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the· TOTAL COST ON ORIGINAL WORKS BAS been. 11·6 LAKHS (eXclusive OF THE 1·7·la1tbs SPENT ON THE NEW Kingwih Canal), AND ON re- PAIRS AND ESTABLISHMENT 23'4 lakhs. The AVERAGE AREA IRRIGATED DURING THE FIVE YEARS ENDING 1905-6 WAS 277 SQUARE miles. The CANALS ARE REMARKABLE AS BEING CONSTRUCTED AND main- TAINED ON THE co-operative SYSTEM WITHOUT ANY DIRECT AID FROM Government, EXCEPT A SMALL GRANT TOWARDS THE COST OF estab- LISHMENT IN FAzilka WHICH HAS BEEN STOPPED since· THE LAST SETTLEMENT (11)02). The EXCAVATION WORK WAS PERFORMED BY THE AGRICULTURISTS WHOSE LANDS THE CANAL WAS TO benefit, super- VISED BY THE ORDINARY REVENUE STAFF OF THE District. Since 1881 THE SPECIAL ESTABLISHMENT REQUIRED FOR THEIR up-keep HAS BEEN MET BY A CHARGE OF 3 TO 4 ANNAS PER ghfl1ll4() (five-sixths OF AN acre); AND THE ANNUAL SILT CLEARANCE AND OTHER WORKS HAVE BEEN CARRIED OUT AT THE EXPENSE OF THE IRRIGATORS AT THE AVERAGE RATE OF 8 TO 10 ANNAS PER irrigatedghumao. In ADDITION TO THESE CHARGES FOR maintenance, A ROYALTY OF 12 ANNAS PER ghumao OF superior, AND 6 ANNAS PER ghumao OF inferior, CROPS IS TAKEN BY Government. Ghaggar Canals.-An Imperial SYSTEM OF MINOR CANALS IN THE Punjab, TALRING OFF FROM THE Ghaggar. Owing TO THE WASTE OF WATER IN THE LAKES AND SWAMPS OF THAT river, AND THE INSANITARY CONDITION TO WHICH THE low-lying LANDS IN THE VALLEY BELOW Sirsa WERE reduced, IT WAS AGREED BETWEEN THE British Government AND THE State OF Bikaner THAT THE Dhaniir lake, ABOUT 8 MILES FROM Sirsa, SHOULD BE CONVERTED INTO A RESERVOIR BY TPE CONSTRUCTION OF A MASONRY WEIR AT Otu, AND THAT irrigation·· SHOULD BE EFFECTED BY TWO canals, THE NORTHERN AND southern, TAKING OFF FROM EACH END OF THE weir, WITH A COMBINED CAPACITY OF 1,000 CUBIC FEET PER second. The Blkaner State WAS TO SHARE THE CANAL SUPPLIES AND MEET A PROPORTIONATE PART OF THE cost. The CANALS WERE CONSTRUCTED WITH FAMINE LABOUR IN 1896-7, AND BEGAN TO IRRIGATE IN THE MONSOON OF 1897. The AREAS COMMANDED IN British AND Brkaner TERRITORY ARE 130 AND II 7 SQUARE miles, AND THE irr~able AREAS ARE 53 AND 35 SQUARE miles, respectively. There ARE 95 MILES OF MAIN CANALS AND 24 OF distributaries; AND THE TOTAL CAPITAL OUTLAY TO THE END OF March, 1904, WAS 6'3lakhs, OF WHICH 2·8 LAKHS WAS DEBITED TO Bikaner. These CANALS ARE NEVER LIKELY TO SHOW ANY RETURN ON THEIR CAPITAL cost, AS ONLY PART OF THE IRRIGATED AREA IS ASSESSED TO CANAL occu- piers' rates, THE REMAINDER BEING ASSESSED TO LAND REVENUE only. Sutlej Inundation Canals, Lower.-An Imperial SYSTEM OF INUNDATION CANALS IN THE Punjab, TAKING OFF FROM THE RIGHT BANK OF THE Sutlej AND IRRIGATING PART OF Mullin District. They were for the most part constructed in the· middle of the eighteenth century by the Daudputras, a powerful tribe who were in possession of this part of the country from the down- fall of the Mugbals to the rise ofRanjit Singh; but one of the largest, the Diwiinwah, was excavated in 1831 by Dlwan Sawan Mal, who also enlarged and improved several others. Excluding the Hajiwah canal, whose history is separate from that of the rest, theIe were in 1850 nineteen of these canals ; these, . however, have been gradually amalgamated, and in 1903 theIe WeIe only three, the Mailsi, Muhammadwah- Sardarwah, and BahiiwalwAh-Lodhriln canals, of which the last two will probably be amalgamated. The gross cultivable area commanded by these canals is 1,414 square miles, of which 424 are at present irrigable. The canals geneIally flow from April to OctobeI; but since theSIRHIND CANAL came into full operation the supply of water at the commence- ment and end of the flood season has been considerably re- duced, and the actual area irrigated in the five years ending 1903-4 was only 263 square miles. The normal autumn crop is sown and matured with canal water alone; but for the spring harvest only the preliminary waterings required for ploughing and sowing are given from the canal, and further irrigation is supplied from wells. The maximum discharge is 5,000 cubic feet per second, and the total length of main canals is 394 miles and of distributaries 328 miles. Properly designed channels are only of recent construction, and have still to be provided on the Mailsi canal. Until recently canal clearance was effected by the labour of the cultivators: this system was, however, finally abolished in 1903 and rates are now paid. No capital account is kept for these canals. The gross revenue during the three years ending 1903-4 averaged 3.8 lakhs and the net revenue Rs. 83,000. The Hajiwlih canal is included in the Lower Sutlej system. It was a private canal constructed in the time of Ranjn Singh, and its administration was taken over by Government in 1888 in consequence of the mismanagement of the owners. This action was authorized by the terms of a deed executed in 1886, under which Government had given the owners a grant of 60,000 acres of land served by the canal, and it was upheld by the Privy Council in 1901. The canal has a bed-width of 30 feet, an average supply during the flood season of 500 cubic feet per second, and a length of 39 miles. The· average area irrigated is only 53 square miles, as the alignment is defective. Sidhnal Canal.-An irrigation work in the Punjab, taking off from the left bank of the Rbi and watering part of Multln District. It derives its name, meaning 'straight,' from a remarkable reach of the Ravi, which extends in a perfectly straight cutting for 10 or I2 miles from Tulamba to Sarai Sidhu. It was opened for irrigation in 1886. The head-works consist of a weir 737 feet long, built across this reach. The main line bas a bed-width of 90 feet and a maximum discharge of 1,820 cubic feet per second; after 30 miles it divides into two large distributaries, which between them .take nearly one- third of the whole supply. The very short length of the canal compared with the area irrigated is one cause of its financial success. There are in all thirteen main distributary channels taking off from the main line, and three subsidiary .canals which take off from the river above the dam. The gross area com- manded is 595 square miles, of which the greater part was Government waste, and was settled by colonists brought from various parts of the Punjab, the land being given out for the most parts in 9o-acre plots. Although the· whole of the water in the Sidhnai reach can be turned into the canal, the Ravi in the winter is often absolutely dry, owing to the supply taken by the Bari Doiib Canal, so that the spring crop bas to be matured by the ,aid of wells. The average area irrigated during the three years ending 1903-4 was 190 square miles. The capital outlay up to the end of 1903-4 was about 13 luhs, and the average annual profit more than II per cent. Chenab Inundation Canals.-A system of inundation canals in tbe Punjab, taking off from the left bank of the ChenAb below its confluence with the Ravi, and irrigating part of the Multln and ShujibAd taluUs of Multin District. They were for the most part constructed by the Pathiln rulers of Multln and Shujl1bnd, and were once thirteen in number j but by amalgamation the heads in the river have been reduced to four, the Mattithal, Wall Muhammad, Sikandaribld, and Sikandarwih. As the canal-irrigated land is much lower than the river-level in July and August, the outer banks of the canals are made specially high and strong to keep the flood- waters from pouring over the cultivated land, and in certain lengths of the river embankments have been constructed. In this way there is a chain of protection about 80 miles long on the east bank of the river. The maximum discharge of the canals is 5,200 cubic feet per second: there are 252 miles of main canals and 46 miles of Government distributaries. Until recently water was taken from the main canal entirely by private watercourses, but the construction of properly aligned distri- butaries is now in progress. The system by which the cultivators, in lieu of paying for the water, provided labour for silt clear- ance has recently been abolished, and occupiers' rates imposed. No capital account is kept for these canals. The gross revenue during the three years ending 1903-4 averaged 3'3 Iakhs yearly, and the net revenue Rs. 47,000. The average area irrigated during the six years ending 1903-4 was 214 square miles. Muzatfargarh Canals.-An Imperial system of inundation canals in the Punjab, taking off from the left bank of the Indus and the right bank of the Chenib, and irrigating portions of Muzaffargarh District. They were for the most part constructed by the native rulers of the District, and improved by Sawan Mal, governor under Ranjn Singh. After annexation the oinals remained for many years under the management of the Deputy- Commissioner, and were transferred to the Canal department as a (minor' work in 1880. The system of canal clearance by the labour of the cultivators was finally abolished in 1903, when occupiers' rates were introduced. The Indus series, which is by far the more important of the two, consists of eight ~als , with an aggregate length of I, 138 miles of main, branch, and distributary channels, and a total average discharge of 2,570 cubic feet per second.

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