ABSTRACT OF PROCEEDINGS — APPENDIX. XXXI. 



water when the river is in flood ; it has no regulating 

 •devices for controlling the supply, so that its utility depends 

 upon the fixed volume, regular periodicity and duration of 

 the river floods. These canals, together with wells, were 

 the only means of irrigation available in ancient times in 

 the Punjab and Scinde. In the southern district of the 

 Madras Presidency, where the rainfall is small and uncer- 

 tain, an enormous number of artificial reservoirs or tanks 

 has been constructed for the storage of water, many of 

 these are of great antiquity. According to Colonel P. H. 

 Hundall, c.s.i., r.e., about 60,000 of these tanks are pro- 

 vided with masonry works. The Madras tanks depend 

 mainly on local rainfall, but they are sometimes supplied 

 from rivers or streams by means of channels taking off 

 above weirs constructed in the beds of rivers. In a Govern- 

 ment Report it is stated that there are 1129 weirs across 

 rivers or streams in Madras, each connected with a series 

 of tanks, or with a single one. The larger weirs of irriga- 

 tion works, such as the delta systems, are not included in 

 the numbers stated. 



The natives of India appear to have possessed consider- 

 able skill in the construction of embankments of earth for 

 forming tanks and anicuts across rivers, which, although 

 developed to a greater extent in Madras, existed more or 

 less in other parts of India. In the tract of land between 

 the Ganges and the Jumna, now commanded by the Ganges 

 Canal, there existed, in 1860, 70,000 masonry wells, and 

 280,000 temporary earthen ones, irrigating 1,470,000 acres 

 by lift. Some of these are still in existence. Again, in 

 many of the larger rivers are to be found the remains of 

 ancient anicuts or weirs of somewhat crude construction, 

 but generally well located in regard to the purpose intended. 

 Some of these have been restored and are still in use, but 

 the annual cost of repairs is excessive. Hence it is clear 



