June  i,  1896.] 
the  tropical  agriculturist. 
815 
'I'HE  .STATISTICAI.  ATLAS  OT  INDIA. 
Tlie  iiuignitude  of  the  territory  .spoken  ot  as 
Ihitisli  Tiul'a  is,  we  snpiiose,  realized,  in  a way, 
by  iliose  who  nse  the  e.\pre.ssion ; and  the  vast 
and  varied  interests  with  whidi  llritisli  rule  is 
identilied,  are  also,  in  a manner,  appreciated  by 
the  intelligent  student  of  contemporary  history. 
For  a full  coiujirehension,  however,  of  the 
gigantic  responsibilities  tlie  Knglisli  have  nnder- 
taken  on  tlie  vast  peninsula  u ruler  whose  shadow 
we  live,  and  of  the  manner  in  wiiicli  those  res- 
ponsibilities are  being  ilischarged,  few  means  are 
as  ell'eclive,  and  at  tlie  same  time  attractive,  as 
a study  of  the  ytatistical  Atlas,  the  receipt  of 
which  from  the  Department  of  Kevenue  and 
Agriculture  of  tlie  Uiovernment  of  India,  we 
acknowleilged  a few  days  ago.  The  volume  is 
admirably  gob  up,  in  stout  paper  and  binding 
which  littingly  bear  the  weight  of  the  heap  of 
statistics  enclosed  between  the  boards ; while  the 
clearness  of  the  letterpress  and  the  ingenuity 
and  neatness  of  the  Maps  and  Diagrams  invite 
the  student  to  careful  study.  As  a book  of  re- 
ference, it  is  invaluable  ; and  we  suppose  it  linds 
a place  in  every  Collectorate  anil  Pulilic  Depart- 
ment in  British  India.  But  its  usefulness  is  not 
conlined  to  India.  Every  country  with  trade 
relations  with  India,  every  civilized  State,  every 
Public  Library  which  counts  among  its  readers 
people  whose  minds  can  rise  above  the  popular 
novel,  and  every  private  Library  and  news|iaper 
office  of  any  pretensions,  has  reason  to  be  grate- 
ful that  so  compendious  and  attractive  a volume 
is  available  for  reference.  It  is  a book  of  which 
the  (Government  of  India  might  well  be  proud — 
ingenious  in  conception,  elaborate  and  clear  in 
e.'cecution,  but  above  ad  as  a record  of  grand 
achievements  and  great  and  splendid  progress. 
On  the  accuracy  of  the  work  done  and  the 
statistics  compiled,  we  are  unable  to  express  a 
definite  opinion ; but  tlic  names  of  the  distin- 
guished men  responsible  for  the  compilation  in 
its  several  departments  are  a guarantee  that 
every  possible  moans  must  ha\e  been  adopted 
to  ensure  cori’ect  and  up-to-date  information. 
The  Statistical  Atlas,  as  the  prefatory  note  tells 
us,  was  first  prejiared  in  ISSb  for  the  Indian  and 
(Colonial  Exhibition ; and  care  has  been  taken 
in  preparing  this  second  Edition  for  iniblication, 
bo  include  in  the  record  information  obtained 
for  the  last  census,  while  the  scope  of  the  work 
has  been  extended  somewhat.  Most  people  have 
a horror  of  statistics  ; and  even  those  who  feel 
a delight  in  interpreting  their  significance,  are 
often  deterred  by  the  maze  in  which  they  are 
set,  or  disgusted  by  the  awkwardness  of  their 
arrangement.  In  the  volume  before  us,  almost 
every  branch  of  knowledge  bearing  on  India  is 
jiourtraycd  by  a series  of  coloured  maps,  the 
signilicance  of  the  tints  being  explained  by  a table 
of  references  at  foot ; andbheiNiaps  are  supplemented 
in  some  departments  by  Diagrams,  setting  forth 
in  columns  and  sipiares  statistical  informa- 
ation  of  tlie  greatest  importance  and  interest. 
It  is  impos,sible  adequately  to  summarize  the  infor- 
mation thus  presented,  ei  en  in  one  department ; 
but  bo  illustrate  the  method  of  arrangement  and 
treatment,  we  may  mention  the  very  first  ma[i. 
Its  subject  is  Physical  Conliguration,  and  eight 
distinct  tints  indicate  the  distinctive  features  of 
the  country — from  a yellow  which  colours  parts 
of  the  coast  whose  altitude  is  between  U and 
200  feet,  to  a blackish  brown  which  rejiresents 
heights  over  20,000  feet,  and  by  which  several 
Himalayan  peaks  arc  ilistinguislied.  The  expla- 
natory letter  press,  before  touching  on  the  wealth 
and  fertility  which  the  Himalayas  secure  lor 
103 
India,  by  arresting  the  vapour  blown  in  from 
the  sea  and  returning  it  in  rains  and  fertilizing 
streams,  invites  the  reader  to  endeavour  to  form 
some  idea  of  the  vast  extent  of  British  India  by 
com|iaring  it  with  some  other  parts  of  the  world. 
A skeleton  map  of  England  and  Scotland  in  a 
corner  of  each  of  the  2d  plates  which  set  forth 
the  phy.sical,  geological,  agricultural  and  other 
statistic.?  of  India,  aflords  a striking  contrast 
between  the  area  of  the  kingdom  aiid  that  of 
one  of  its  grand  possessions ; but  as  quality, 
and  not  quantity  alone,  should  be  a factor  in 
any  comparison,  Egypt,  as,  of  all  countries  west 
of  the  Suez  Canal,  bearing  the  closest  resembl- 
ance to  India,  is  pressed  into  service  Taking 
Egypt  as  the  unit,  we  are  told  that  Bengal  is 
about  equal  to  10  Egypts  in  extent,  Madras  to 
('),  and  so  on,  until  the  total  British  provinces 
are  the  equivalent  of  42  Egypts ! This  com- 
parison excludes  from  consideration  the  native 
states,  which  aggregate  about  as  many  Egypts 
again.  But  while  these  states  cover  712,000 
square  miles  out  of  a total  cf  1,;>CO,000,  they 
sustain  a population  of  only  06,330,000  out  of  a 
total  of  287,223,000  ; and  the  explanation  of  the 
superiority  in  fertility  and  wealth  of  British  India, 
is  thus  set  forth  : — 
While  your  attention  is  thus  directed  to  the  inpour 
of  the  Himalayan  waters  you  will  observe  what  is 
perhaps  the  most  important  geographical  feature  of 
the  Indian  Continent,  viz.,  the  existence  of  a broad 
unbroken  alluvial  plain  stretching  ,from  the  north  of 
Bombay  through  the  Punjab,  the  North-Western 
Provinces  and  Oudh,  and  Bengal  to  Calcutta.  If 
some  convulsion  of  the  earth  were  to  raise  the  ocean 
level  something  more  than  1,000  feet  all  this  land 
would  be  flooded ; the  Himalayas  would,  as  perhaps 
they  once  were,  be  cut  off  from  the  Continent  of 
India  by  a new  Mediterranean ; the  Bay  of  Bengal 
and  the  Arabian  Si  a would  meet,  and  the  Central  Pro- 
vinces. Bombay,  and  Madi’as  wmuld  float  as  an  Island, 
not  bigger  than  Borneo,  in  the  midst  of  the  Indian 
Ocean.  Now  the  reason  why  you  are  asked  to  acquire 
a vivid  and  permanent  conception  of  this  geographi- 
cal fact  is  because  a great  part  of  the  wealth  of 
India  is  concentrated  on  this  belt  of  alluvial  land  to 
which  your  attention  has  been  directed.  It  is  here 
that  you  may  see  unbroken  continents  of  wheat,  of 
millets,  and  of  Indian  corn,  endless  seas  of  rice  and 
limitless  prairies  of  sugarcane  and  indigo ; it  is  here 
that  you  will  find  the  teeming  populations,  the  net- 
works of  canals  and  railways,  the  seething  life  of 
India.  Down  the  ancient  sea  bed  the  tide  of  Muham- 
madan invasion  ebbed  and  flowed,  and  up  this  same 
valley  from  the  east  the  opposing  force  of  British 
influence  crept  hand  over  hand.  The  battles  of  his- 
tory were  fought  in  the  intermediate  plains,  until, 
step  by  step,  the  desultory  conquerors  from  the  North 
were  beaten  back  or  subdued  by  the  stronger  energies 
of  the  seaborne  foes  from  the  West,  and  peace  and 
tranquillity  were  restored  to  millions  of  raiyat  culti- 
vators, who,  while  battle  raged  over  their  heads, 
p’onghed  and  reaped  annual  harvests  on  this  wide- 
spreading  belt  of  fertile  soil.  Compare  the  first  with 
the  last  map  iu  this  Atlas,  and  you  will  see  how 
there  are  imbedded  in  this  uplifted  sea-valley  four 
of  the  richest  provinces  of  India — first  Bengal,  then 
the  North-Western  Provinces,  then  Oudh  (“The 
Garden  of  India”),  and,  finally,  the  Punjab  (“The 
wheat  field  par  excellence  of  the  Empire  ”). 
The  last  map,  referred  to  in  the  above  extract, 
is  the  only  unstatistical  one,  ponrtraying  the 
various  divisions  which  form  the  great  pen- 
insula, and  separating  them  by  distinct  red 
lines — the  portions  tinted  pink  representing  the 
dillerent  British  provinces,  yellow  being  the 
colour  of  the  native  states  which  run  in  and  out 
of  Britisli  territory,  while  one  tiny  white  speck 
on  tlie  West  Coast  stands  for  the  sole  Portu- 
guese Possession  of  Coa,  and  another  on  the  East 
shows  all  that  is  left  of  what  once  belonged  tq 
