pur~ is a submontane district with a good rainfall and a large
amount of irrigation. The crops are secure except in part of the
Shakargarh _tahsil_. 27 p.c. of the cultivated area is irrigated, 16 by
wells and 11 by the Upper Bari Doab 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.
Jats, Rajputs, Arains, Gujars, and Brahmans, are the chief agricultural
tribes, the first being by far the most important element. There are
four _tahsils_, Batala, Gurdaspur, and Pathankot in the Bari Doab, and
Shakargarh to the west of the Ravi. Batala is one of the most fertile
and prosperous tracts in the Panjab and Gurdaspur is also thriving.
Pathankot 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 Pathankot. 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 _jhils_.

[Illustration: Fig. 98.]

[Illustration: 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
= L98,626.

~Sialkot~ is another secure and fully cultivated submontane district. It
lies wholly in the Rechna Doab and includes a small well-watered hilly
tract, Bajwat, on the borders of Jammu. The Ravi divides Sialkot from
Amritsar an the Chenab separates it from Gujrat. 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 Chenab Canal will give a new value to it. There are five
_tahsils_, Zafarwal, Sialkot, Daska, Pasrur, 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 Sialkot. The Jats form the backbone
of the peasantry. Rajputs and Arains are also important tribes, but
together they are not half as numerous as the J