xii 



INTRODUCTION. 



averages of the past three years. The area under sugar-cane and indigo has been excluded from that 

 under kharif crops, since they are both sown during the hot weather, and their irrigation is therefore 

 not dependent on rainfall. 





Meernt 

 Division. 



Eohillshand 

 Division. 



Agra 

 Division. 



Division, 

 excluding 

 Jaunpur 

 District, 



Benares Divi- 

 sion, including 

 Basti and 

 Gorakhpur 

 Districts only. 



Jhansi 

 Division, 



Kumaun 

 Division, 

 including 

 Tarai only. 



Normal rainfall 

 from June to 

 October, 



31-25 



35-73 



26-78 



31-52 



40-49 



31-57 



35-75 



Percentage of kha- 

 rif areairrigated, 



26-5 



6-2 



I2'9 



r3 



l8-2 



I'a 



3I-I 



Normal rainfall 

 from November 

 to May, 



5-56 



4-73 



2-55 



2-26 



3-55 



2-06 



6-53 



Percentage of the 

 rabi area irri- 

 gated, 



41 "3 



i5'3 



56-3 



2^*4 



6o-8 



10*6 



30.5 



The large amount of irrigation in the Meerut Division as compared with that in Rohilkhand, 

 although the rainfall of both is very nearly the same, is due to the facilities offered by the Ganges 

 and Jumna Canals, and wiU be noticed further on. 



The influence on irrigation of variations in rainfall is of course very marked, irregularities in 

 distribution having, however, much more effect than irregularities in the total annual fall. The 

 following table shows this very clearly. The difference between the area irrigated in 1879-80 and 

 that irrigated in 1880-81 seems disproportionately small when compared with the difference in the 

 rainfall, but whereas in the former year the rain was all concentrated into four months, in the latter 

 it was much more evenly distributed, there being a considerable fall of rain in the cold weather. 





Meerut 

 Division. 



Rohilkhand 

 Division. 



Agra 

 Division. 



Allahabad 

 Division, 

 excluding 

 Jaunpur. 



Benares Divi- 

 sion, including 

 Basti, Gorakh- 

 pur and 

 Azamgarh. 



Jhansi 

 Division, 



Kumaun 

 Division, 

 including 

 Tarai only. 



* Rainfall — 



inches. 



inches. 



inches. 



inches. 



inches. 



inches. 



inches. 



in 1879-80, ... 



46 



66 



37 



31 



64 



42 



70 



in 1880-81, ... 



39 



36 



15 



14 



40 



17 



32 



Irrigated area (in 

 thousands of 

















acres) — 

















in 1879-80, ... 



14-20 



4-48 



11-77 



6-75 



17-82 



72 



57 



in 1880-81, ... 



17-52 



3-84 



15-91 



6-98 



15-94 



71 



55 



The sources of irrigation may be classified as (1), weUs ; (2), streams and tanks ; and (3), canals. 

 It is noticeable that the most important of these sources are principally replenished by the Himalayan 

 and not the local rainfall. AH the principal canals draw their water from Himalayan streams, and it 

 is possible that the water table from which the weUs are supplied is fed more by, so to speak, lateral 

 percolation from the direction of the Himalayas than by downward percolation of the local rainfall. 



The average area irrigated from each of these sources in the 30 temporarily settled N.-W. 

 Provinces Districts for which reliable statistics are available is given below : — 



* Calculated on the falls at District head quarters. 



