258 SEVENTH REPORT—1837. 
give an area of 6760 square miles, with a population of nearly 
55 inhabitants to the square mile; but supposing 1684 
alienated and deserted villages to have a proportionate quan- 
tity of lands, the area will be 12,504 square miles, with 383 
inhabitants only to the square mile, and this I believe to be — 
very near to the truth. It is curious that the area derived 
from the village lands should approximate so closely to the 
area determined trigonometrically. 
The collectorate is divided into sixty-six pergunnahs, some 
of which do not contain more.than one village each, whilst the 
largest, Nandgorbar, has 259 towns and villages, Nowapoor, 
236, Sooltanpoor 232, Rawere 160, Jamnair 144, Amulnair 
140, and Bhamere 150, including deserted villages, The total 
number of towns and villages is 83666; but of this number 330 
are pyegusta, which means that the villages are deserted, but 
that part of the lands are cultivated ; 999 are entirely deserted ; 
but great confusion and uncertainty prevails in the details, for 
of this number there are 51 whose limits are unknown, 12 
whose sites are unknown but names known, and 135 whose 
names and sites are unknown but a record remains of their 
number. ‘There are 237 populated Jagheer, or alienated vil- 
lages; and many amongst the Pyegusta, and deserted also, be- 
long to Jagheerdars, so that it does not appear that more 
than 2032 populated villages belong to the British*; of this 
number 1968 sent in population returns. The most populous 
town in Khandesh was Nandoorbar, and it had only 6429 inha- 
bitants ; and only one other town (Chopra) had a population of 
6000. The towns and villages average only 178 inhabitants, 
and each house averages 3°96 inmates. The total of the 
inhabitants is 478,457. 
From the village lands in Khandesh being kept universally 
in Beegahs, the amount of land under cultivation is readily 
determined. It would appear that 15,958 acres were watered 
by perennial streamlets. Lands so watered are called Paht- 
stul, and are the most valuable of all, as the supply of water 
is mostly permanent, and the chief labour required is to open 
the channels and let it flow over the lands; 46,064 acres were 
watered from wells, and lands so watered are called Moht- 
stul ;+ 600,556 acres were under field cultivation, and are not 
* In the Collector's revenue return for 1827-8 the number of villages is 
stated to be 26974, so that 3353 of the deserted villages had become inhabited, 
independently of 330 uninhabited villages whose lands were included in the 
return. 
+ Paht means a water-channel, and Moht means a well-bucket; implying 
in the first instance that lands are watered from streamlets, and in the second 
instance from wells. 
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