INTRODUCTION. 



water, and emerges with a load which it deposits at the end of its swing on a raised basin, which 

 forms the end of the distributing channels or one corner of the field to be irrigated. Great dexterity 

 is acquired in the use of this lift, which is worked by movement of the body and wrists, with but 

 little strain on the muscles of the upper arm. Sometunes two are worked at the same lift, one behind 

 the other, the swings being of course carefully kept in time. The depth at which the lift is most 

 efficient is 3J feet, when three men working turn and turn about can irrigate fths acre in a day. 

 Five or 5^ feet is the maximum depth to which a single bucket is worked, but occasionally a series 

 of them is employed to lift from depths of 10 or 15 feet, being arranged in steps one above the other. 

 The efficiency of this method of lifting water entirely depends on the labour supply, and it is there- 

 fore in most common use in the thickly populated Districts of the Middle and Lower Dodb and the 

 Benares Division.*" 



With the exception of the temporary water-courses of the Tarai and sub-Himalayan tract, 

 all the canals in the Provinces are the property of Government. They may be classified according as 

 they draw their water supply from snow-fed streams, from streams merely fed by rains, or from tanks. 

 In the first class fall the two Jumna and two Ganges Canals, in the second, the Dun and Rohilkhand 

 Canals, and the canals in the Bhabar below the Kumaun hills, and in the third class the Bundelkhand 

 Canals which are at present working. The Sarda Canal, the project of which is still under consider- 

 ation, will, if made, fall in the first, and the Betwa Canal in the Jhansi Division, now under construc- 

 tion, falls in the second class. 



The area irrigated by these canals in the last three years is shown below : — 





Eabi. 



Khaeif. 



Total, 



1878-79. 



1879-80. 



1880-81. 



1878-79. 



1879-80. 



1880-81. 



1878-79. 



1879-80. 



1880-81, 





acres. 



acres. 



acres. 



acres. 



acres. 



acres. 



acres. 



acres. 



acres. 



Class I.— Snow-fed Jtlver Canals. 





















From Jumna— 























1,81,228 



1,42,201 



1,28,408 



1,10,722 



98,032 



1,07,454 



2,91,950 



2,40,233 



2,35,862 





83,094 



36,280 



1,05,378 



40,484 



20,911 



37,027 



1,23,578 



57,197 



1,41,405 



From Ganges — 























7,25,872 



5,57,937 



3,59,373 



4,83,356 



4,01,471 



3,05,554 



12,09,228 



9,59,408 



6,64,927 





6,262 



28,896 



3,99,501 



10,432 



10,883 



1,83,970 



16,694 



39,779 



5,83,471 



Class II. — Rain-fed River Canals. 























9,607 



8,804 



6,867 



3,597 



6,160 



6,441 



13,204 



14,964 



13,308 





1,281 



1,730 



2,041 



• • 



656 



2,808 



1,281 



2,386 



4,849 





57,237 



66,277 



29,985 



21,679 



18,981 



57,644 



78,916 



85,258 



87,629 



Bhabar Canals, .. .. 



45,440 



45,904 



46,300 









45,440 



45,904 



46,300 



Class III.— Tank Canals. 





















Bundelkhand Canals, .. .. 



1,611 



1,351 



1,008 



188 



392 



237 



1,799 



1,743 



1,245 



Total, . . 



11,11,632 



8,89,386 



10,78,861 



6,70,468 



5,57,486 



7,00,135 



17,82,090 



14,46,872 



17,78,996 



These figures show the crof^ped area irrigated, and hence include twice over the area which bears 



* Irrigation by heris is exceedingly common in Oudh and Eohilkhand. — W. C. B. 



