44 MUTTRA. and the slightest breath of air stirs it up into an impenetrable haze. For eight months of the year, the Jumna shrinks to the dimensions of a mere rivulet, meandering through a waste of sand, and bounded by monotonous flats of arable land, through which the hill torrents have worn stony ravines. During the rains, however, when pilgrims chiefly visit the sacred sites which are found throughout the whole transJumna tract, the river swells to a mighty stream, a mile or more in breadth; the temporary torrents and lakes are filled to overflowing; green foliage spreads over the barren rocks and hills; and the dusty plain becomes a waving mass of verdure. The rural inhabitants avoid hamlets, and live in larger semi-fortified villages. This centralization of the people is due partly to the quality of the water, which in outlying spots is often undrinkable ; partly to the great sanctity of certain tracts, but chiefly to historical causes dating from the last century, when such strongholds were necessary to protect the husbandmen from the onslaughts of Játs and Maráthás. The one great need of the west Jumna tract is water. The rainfall has indeed few channels by which to escape, and the fields are given the advantage of almost every drop. But the general saline character of the wells renders them useless when no rain falls to freshen them. Where water is plentiful, as in certain tracts of Muttra tahsil, the industry of the Ját cultivators is amply repaid; and the construction of the Agra canal and its branches, which intersect the tract from end to end, has proved a great advantage. The only navigable waters are the Jumna river and the Agra canal. Until within recent years, the former used to carry from the north large quantities of salt and cleaned cotton; and from the east, large quantities of rice, sugar, tobacco, and spices. The Muttra and Achnera, and the Muttra and Hathras Railways have to a large extent superseded the river as a means of communication, and merchandise navigation is now extremely small. The whole length of the Agra main canal is navigable, and a special navigation channel about 8 miles long connects the main canal with Muttra town. Large sums have been spent on rendering the canal navigable ; but, so far, it seems doubtful whether the receipts will cover the interest on the outlay. What traffic exists on the canal is chiefly through traffic between Delhi and Agra, or places beyond. Agra and Delhi are the termini of the navigable portion of the canal. Till very recently, nearly the whole of Muttra District consisted of pasture and woodland, and many of the villages still stand among encircling grores. But the new roads constructed as relief works during the great famine of 1837-38 threw open many large tracts of country, and the task of reclamation has since proceeded rapidly under the auspices of Government. The sheet of water known as the
