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Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 5, p. 284.

284 AMBALA DISTRICT town and exported to the hills. Jagadhri carries on a considerable trade in metals, importing copper and iron and exporting the manufactured products. It is also a centre of the borax trade. During the American Civil War, a cotton mart was established at Kur&li, where 5 lakhs' worth is still reported to change hands yearly. The North-Western Railway from Saharanpur to Lahore and the Delhi-Umballa-Kalka line cross each other at Ambala city, the latter being continued by the narrow-gauge Kalka-Simla line. The grand trunk road passes through Ambala, where the Kalka road for Simla leaves it. The only other important metalled roads are from Abdullah- pur (via Jagadhri) to Chhachhrauli, the capital of the State of Kalsia, and from Buriya to Jagadhri. The total length of metalled roads is r03 miles, and of unmetalled roads 404 miles. Of these, 87 miles of metalled and 32 miles of unmetalled roads are under the Public Works depart- ment, and the rest are maintained by the District board. Both the Sirhind and Western Jumna Canals are navigable, taking to a large extent the place of the rivers which they drain almost dry except in the summer months. The Jumna is crossed by a ferry, which is replaced in the cold season by a bridge of boats, and the Sutlej by three ferries. Ambala District has only once suffered from serious famine since its formation in 1847. This was in r860-r, when wheat rose to 8 seers a F ne. rupee. Regarding the distress in I868-9 very little is Famine. recorded. The total number of persons employed on relief works was 46,000, and 57,000 received gratuitous relief. Only about Rs. 2,500 was spent from subscriptions, to which Government added as much again. The crops failed in i884-5 and 1890. The famine of 1896-7 was due, not so much to any actual failure of the crops in the District (though the spring harvest of 1897 was the third poor harvest in succession), as to the state of the grain market all over India. For months together the prices of all food-grains stood at about io seers per rupee in rural tracts; and in the towns, when prices were highest, wheat rose to 7 seers, maize (the staple food of the people) and gram to 8 seers; and the District only escaped worse calamities than it actually suffered owing in no small degree to the resources of the small capitalists. The greatest daily average number relieved was 5,279. Rs. 36,600 was spent from District funds on gratuitous and all other forms of relief, and Rs. I5,0oo was received from the Indian Charitable Famine Relief Fund. In the famine of I899-I900, though prices did not rise so high, the crop failure was more complete; there were heavier losses of cattle, and credit was harder to obtain. The greatest daily number relieved did not, however, exceed 8r6; the expenditure from District finds was Rs. 4,I76, and from the Charitable Relief Fund Rs. 4,925.