16 PATEHPUR DISTRICT
north by the Ganges, dividing it from Rae Barelf District in Oudh ;
on the west by Cawnpore ; on the south by the Jumna, separating it
from Hamirpur and Banda Districts; and on the east by Allahabad.
The District of Fatehpur forms a portion of the
Physical
aspects. D or great alluvial tract between the Ganges and
.
the Jumna, and its main features do not differ from
those common to the whole area enclosed by those two great rivers.
It consists for the most part of a highly cultivated and fairly well
wooded plain. A ridge of slightly higher land, forming the watershed
of the District, runs through it from east to west, at an average distance.
• of three to five miles from the Ganges. In the extreme west are three
small rivers-the Pandii, which flows northward into the Ganges, and
the Rind and the Non, which swell the waters of the Jumna. The
tract enclosed between the Jumna and the two last-named streams is
a tangled mass of ravines, with wild and desolate scenery: Shallow
lakes (jhils) are common in the midland portion of the District; which
is badly drained, but they ordinarily dry up by January or February.
As a whole, the western region is. much cut up by ravines and covered
with babul jungle ; the central tract is more generally cultivated, though
interspersed with frequent patches of barren usar ; and the eastern part,
near the Allahabad border, is one unbroken stretch of smiling and
prosperous tillage.
The soil consists entirely of Gangetic alluvium, in which hankar is
the chief mineral product..
The District is well supplied with cultivated trees, in particular the
mango in the west and the mahud in the east. Groves are especially
numerous in the south-east. Shisham, nim, sills, pipal, and inili are
common along roadsides and near the village sites, while babul, ber,
and dhdk flourish in the ravines and on waste land.
Leopards are occasionally found in the ravines along the Jumna and
Rind, and wolves abound in the same tracts. Wild hog and jackals
are common everywhere, and the nilgai and antelope are to be seen in
places. The `ravine deer' -(gazelle) is found wherever there is broken
ground, and often where the country is undulating. Wild-fowl of all
kinds are very abundant; and geese, duck, and teal swarm in the
numerous jhils during the cold season: Crocodiles, porpoises, and fish
of many kinds are common in the large rivers.
The climate of Fatehpur is that of the Doab generally; but from its
easterly position the west winds do not reach it with such force in the
hot season as in Agra and the western Districts. The surface is some
what marshy, and the numerous jhils render the atmosphere damp. It
is, however, not unhealthy.
The annual rainfall over the whole District averages 34 inches; and
variations in different parts are small. The amount received from year
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