Page:The Imperial Gazetteer of India - Volume 10 (2nd edition).pdf/264

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252 NA IVANAGAR. gives the area at 3393 square miles. The latter authority returns the males at 163,462, and the females at 152,685, dwelling in 5 towns and 626 villages, containing 56,699 houses. Hindus number 250,382 ; Muhammadans, 49,221 ; 'others,' 16,544. The territory lies between 21° 44' and 22° 54' N. lat., and between 68° 58' and 71° E. long. It is generally flat, but about two-thirds of the Barda Hills are contained within its limits. Mount Venu, the highest point of the Barda Hills, is 2057 feet above the sea. Irrigation is conducted by means of water drawn from wells by bullocks, and in some places by aqueducts from rivers. A reservoir for the drinking supply of the capital, and for purposes of irrigation, is being built 8 miles south of Nawánagar town. The area will be about 600 acres. Especially on the coast of the Gulf of Cutch, along which the territory extends, the climate is good. Marble of different qualities is found in the Kandorna and Bhanwar táluks. Copper occurs in the Kambhália parganá, but does not pay working expenses. Hopes are entertained that silver may be found ind of Ajád. There are stone quarries within the limits of the State, and iron-ore is also found, but the production does not pay. The principal products are grain and cotton; cloth and silk are the chief manufactures. The land is mostly garden and dry crop. Joár, bájra, wheat, and gram are the staple crops. The wheat is produced without irrigation. At Ráwal about 1200 acres are irrigated for rice. Cotton, sugar-cane, and tobacco are raised in small quantities. A small pearl fishery lies off the coast on the southern shore of the Gulf. A trade in isinglass and shagreen is growing up; and the fisheries afford sole, pomfret, and whitebait. Mangrove swamps line the shores of the Gulf, affording large supplies of firewood, and pasture to erds of camels. The Aloe littorale is here said to grow wild, and the stalks of the blossoms when cooked to resemble asparagus in taste. A considerable number of people are employed as dyers. The dyes given to the local fabrics are much admired, and their excellence is traditionally attributed to the quality of the water of the Rangmati, which washes the walls of the town of Nawánagar. The harbours of Jodia and Nawánagar or Bedi are situated within the State; and there is land communication by carts and pack-bullocks, horses, and camels. Until 1860, the Nawảnagar State was infested by lions, which particularly abounded in the Barda and Alech Hills. In 1860, however, when cannon were frequently fircd in pursuit of the rebel Vághers, the lions fled from the hills, and are now only found in the Gir forest, and (rarely) in the Girnár mountain near Junagarh. Leopards, cheetahs, and nilgui are common, The present (1881–82) chief, or Jám, of Nawánagar, Srí Vibhájí, K.C.S.I., is a Hindu of the Járeja Rajput caste. He administers the