Gurdáspur is a submontane district with a good rainfall and a large amount of irrigation. The crops are secure except in part of the Shakargarh tahsíl. 27 p.c. of the cultivated area is irrigated, 16 by wells and 11 by the Upper Bárí Doáb Canal. Irrigation is only allowed from the Canal for the Autumn harvest. The chief crop is wheat and the area under cane is unusually large. Of late years plague has been very fatal and the population fell from 940,334 in 1901 to 836,771 in 1911. Játs, Rájputs, Arains, Gújars, and Brahmans, are the chief agricultural tribes, the first being by far the most important element. There are four tahsíls, Batála, Gurdáspur, and Pathánkot in the Bárí Doáb, and Shakargarh to the west of the Ráví. Batála is one of the most fertile and prosperous tracts in the Panjáb and Gurdáspur is also thriving. Pathánkot is damp, fever stricken, and unprosperous. It lies mostly in the plains but contains a considerable area in the low hills and higher up two enclaves, Bakloh and Dalhousie, surrounded by Chamba villages. Shakargarh is much more healthy, and is better off than Pathánkot. There is good duck and snipe shooting to be got in some parts of the district, as the drainage from the hills collects in swamps and jhíls.

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Fig. 99.

Area, 1991 sq. m. Cultd area, 1427 sq. m. Pop. 979,553; 62 p.c. M. 25 p.c. H. 8 p.c. S. Land Rev. Rs. 14,79,390 = £98,626.

Siálkot is another secure and fully cultivated submontane district. It lies wholly in the Rechna Doáb and includes a small well-watered hilly tract, Bajwát, on the borders of Jammu. The Ráví divides Siálkot from Amritsar an the Chenáb separates it from Gujrát. The Degh and some smaller torrents run through the district. In the south there is much hard sour clay, part hitherto unculturable. But irrigation from the Upper Chenáb Canal will give a new value to it. There are five tahsíls, Zafarwál, Siálkot, Daska, Pasrúr, and Raya. The chief crop is wheat which is largely grown on the wells, numbering 22,000. The pressure of the population on the soil was considerable, but since 1891 the total has fallen from 1,119,847 to 979,553 as the result of plague and emigration to the new canal colonies. Christianity has obtained a considerable number of converts in Siálkot. The Játs form the backbone of the peasantry. Rájputs and Arains are also important tribes, but together they are not half as numerous as the Játs.

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Fig. 100.

Area, 4802 sq. m. Cultd area, 2166 sq. m. Pop. 923,419. Land Rev. Rs. 15,43,440 = £102,896.