1831] 
Miscellaneous Notices. 
411 
9. Do they keep themselves entirely secluded from their neighbours, or do 
they in any case, inter-marry with them ? Do they scruple to consort with con- 
cubines of other races ? 
10. Do they observe the Sabbath ? and with what degree of rigour ? 
11. \\ hat fasts and festivals do they observe ? more especially the feast of 
ui iMj which commemorated the deliverance of the people under Esther. 
12. Do they rigidly adhere to the law as regards meats, &c. ? 
13. Do they practise commerce, and to what extent ? 
14. Have they any knowledge of or connexion with more remote communities 
of the Jews in India, those said to exist in Thibet, or with those in China ? 
Id. What are their notions about the Messiah, and the restoration to Palestine ? 
lb. What are their feelings towards Christians and Christianity ? 
On the Black Jews. 
1. In what points do the black Jews differ from the white ? 
2. How far do the black Jews conform to the usages of the law ? 
3. From what race of blacks do they appear to have derived their complexion ? 
Have they any thing of the Negro caste of countenance ? 
4. In what estimation are the black Jews held by the white ? Do the white 
acknowledge their superior antiquity ? 
5. Are there any distinct traditions of their migration into India, or of the 
quarter from whence they came ? 
6. Is there any thing either in the character or tradition of the people to 
justify or retute the opinion, that the black Jews are descendants of the whites, 
inter-marrying or consorting with any of the native races ; with tribes of Arabian 
descent, or with foreign slaves from any other quarter ? 
The question relating to government, usages, copies and contents of copies of 
the sacred writings, would be more satisfactorily answered, if addressed separately 
to each race. 
XIV. — Miscellaneous Notices. 
1 . — Population of Central India. 
The following proportion is the result obtained from a census of population 
taken in a district comprehending 27 square miles, situated in one of the central 
provinces. 
283 inhabitants to 1 square mile. 
The proportion of males to females is as 1.12 to I. 
Ditto ditto boys to girls do. do. 1.19 to 1. 
The district is generally fertile and well cultivated. I may add that the average 
number of inhabitants per square mile in the whole of England is 222, and ave- 
rage quantity of land to each individual 3.1 acres ; in the district under review 
it is 2.20 acres. 
The land not fit for cultivation (including sites of villages, roads, &c.) is to the 
whole area as 1 : 4.422. 
As far as was ascertained, it appeared that the average proportion of the gross 
produce paid to the zemindar as rent is ^ of the whole. Ihe highest rent paid 
for any considerable quantity of land is 8 Rupees per bigab, or rather more than 
15 rupees 1 an. per acre. 
From an average of 9 years’ collections it appeared, that on account of the 
whole division (in which the above 27 square miles are coiupiehended) the zemin- 
