CCXCIV 



I have not with me ready to hand exact statistics showing the 

 excess area discovered by remeasurement in the tracts, but there can 

 be no doubt that it cannot exceed 300,000 acres, or about one-seventh 

 of the increase in the area of holdings. Against this has to be set off 

 the extent of lands cultivated but not included under holdings for 

 various reasons ; the excess of such cultivation in 181)0 over 1882 in 

 the 7 districts greatly affected by the famine was 240,000 acres, or 

 300,000 acres for the whole Presidency. The increase of population 

 during the 8 years at the rate of lo per cent, per annum was 12 

 per cent., and taking the yield of irrigated lands to be between four 

 and five times that of unirrigated lands on an average, the increase in 

 production as measured by the area of holdings has proceeded, so far, 

 as fast as the increase in population. In the Kistna and the Goddvari 

 deltas there was an increase of nearly 250,000 acres, or 30 per cent., 

 in the area irrigated both in Grovernment taluks and zemindari tracts, 

 during the last 8 years, and this means an enormous addition to the 

 food production of the country. 



The same result is arrived at by an examination of the statistics 

 returned of acreage actually cultivated. In 1882 the area of unirrigated 

 cultivation was 12'3 million acres, of irrigated cultivation 3*5 million 

 acres — total 15 '8 million acres. For 1890, the figures were 14 million 

 acres unirrigated, 3"9 millions irrigated — total 17'9 million acres. The 

 increase in 8 years was 13*8 per cent, in unirrigated, and 11 per cent, 

 in irrigated cultivation, subject to the allowance already referred to on 

 account of the excess area found on remeasurement. There is, how- 

 ever, a large exfent of cultivation not brought to account in the register 

 of holdings, and the acreage of this cultivation has increased in later 

 years. There is, besides, extension of second crop cultivation and of 

 cultivation with the aid of well irrigation to be taken into account. It 

 most further be remembered that daring the period in question tbe 

 taking up of poor lands thrown out of occupation during the late 

 famine has been discouraged in two ways, viz., first by the imposition 

 of substantial assessments on the lowest class of lands instead of the 

 nominal pepper-corn assessments that used to be levied under the old 

 settlements ; and, secondly, the large extent of lands taken up by the 

 Forest Department for fuel and fodder reserves. About 200,000 acres 

 were taken up in the Bellary and Anantapur districts alone. Large 

 extents of lands have similarly been reserved in other districts. 



Apart from the cardinal objeotion already stated to comparing 

 the statistics of holdings in 1890 with those of 1870, the revieAver has 

 overlooked many important considerations and committed several errors 

 in carrying out his analysis. Taking the Presidency as a whole, with 

 the exception of South Oanara, the nominal area of ryotwar holdings, 

 as shown in the accounts, increased from 19*6 millions of acres in 1870 

 to 21 millions of acres in 1890, i.e., 7 per cent, (not 12 per cent, as 

 stated by the reviewer). The values of irrigated and unirrigated 

 lands differ so enormously that we should be drawing very erroneous 

 conclusions from these figures if we do not consider the increase in the 

 irriga*-ed and unirrigated areas separately. For instance, in 1890, the 

 16'9 millions of acres of unirrigated lands comprised within holdings 

 were assessed to the revenue at only 174*6 lakhs of rupees, while 4*1 

 millions of acres of irrigated land were assessed at 205' 7 lakhs of 

 rupees, or in other words, acre for acre, irrigated, land is worth nearly 



