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Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 24, p. 134.

134 UNITED PROVINCES plain, lying practically free from the Himalayan system, though low hills are found to the north of Bahraich and Gonda. The area of these submontane Districts is about 24,000 square miles. Rather more than half the total area of the Provinces (53,776 square miles) is included in the great Indo-Gangetic plain. The western portion comprises thirteen Districts: Muzaffarnagar, Meerut, Buland- shahr, Aligarh, Muttra, Agra, Farrukhabad, Mainpuri, Etawah, Etah, Budaun, Moradabad, and Shahjahanpur. Most of these are situated entirely in the Doab, or space between the two rivers Ganges and Jumna ; but Muttra, Agra, and Etawah also extend to the south and west of the Jumna, and the last three lie north and east of the Ganges. With the exception of Muttra and Agra, these Districts form a gently sloping plain of alluvial soil, in which neither rock nor stone approaches the surface, though beds of kankar (nodular limestone) are found. In the west of Muttra and Agra low stone ridges and hillocks form a feature of the landscape. This portion of the Provinces is by far the most prosperous. Ten of the thirteen Districts are protected by canals, and the standard of comfort is distinctly higher than elsewhere. In the centre of the great plain lie the Districts of Cawnpore, Fatehpur, and Allahabad, with nine of the Oudh Districts: namely, Lucknow, Unao, Rae Bareli, Sitapur, Hardoi, Fyzabad, Sultanpur, Partabgarh, and Bara Banki. The Oudh Districts all lie between the Ganges and the Gogra, while - Cawnpore, Fatehpur, and part of Allahabad are in the Doab. Allahabad also extends north of the Ganges and south of the Jumna. There are no canals in Oudh, but parts of the other three Districts are irrigated by these works. The tract is generally fertile, and closely cultivated. The eastern portion of the great plain includes Ballia, Jaunpur, Azamgarh, Benares, and Ghazipur, all lying between the Gogra and the Ganges, the last two Districts extending also south of the Ganges. The rainfall is -heavier than in the central and western portions, and the population denser. On the south-west and south lie two small tracts belonging to natural divisions of India which differ considerably from the main portions of the Provinces. The four Districts of Jalaun, Banda, Hamirpur, and Jhansi, with a total area of 10,400 square miles, form part of the Central Indian plateau, and are generally known as British Bundel- khand. They are situated on and below the eastern slopes of the great plateau, with a gradual fall from south-west to north-east. The tract is broken up, especially in the south, by low rocky hills, spurs of the Vindhya mountains, covered with stunted trees and jungle. The soil is largely rocky and infertile, with considerable patches of the richer type known as `black soil,' which differs entirely from the alluvium of the great plain. The spring-level is low, and there is little canal-irrigation. The tract is peculiarly liable to suffer from either