resources of production are almost incalculable in regard to cotton and coal, and whose rapid and successful improvement and progress, form one of the most remarkable and gratifying features in the official annals of recent Indian administration; a province, too, that has undergone many strange and memorable vicissitudes and revolutions, not only of dynastic change, but of the highest prosperity and direst adversity.

Among the ancient Puranic geographical divisions of India, Berar is noticed under the name Vaidarbha; but what its limits were, or by whom it was ruled in ancient or pre-historic times, there is now no trace or record. It is probable that Vaidarbha included the province of Nagpoor to the east, and may have extended considerably to the south; but the tract now known as 'Berar,' is meant to include only those portions of the original province that were assigned to the management of the British Government under the provision of the Treaties with His Highness the Nizam in 1853 and 1860–61, the boundaries of which were then defined. They consist, to the north, of part of the Satpura range of mountains, the Tapti river, and the districts of Baitool and Chindwara of the Central Provinces; to the east the river Wurdha; to the south, for the most part, the river Pain Gungah as far as its confluence with the Wurdha; and on the west an irregular line formed by part of the province of Aurungabad, and Khandesh which belongs to the Presidency of Bombay. The whole lies between longitude 76° and 79° 13', and latitude 19° 30' to 21° 46', and embraces an area of about 17,000 square miles, nearly according, as Mr. Lyall observes, with the kingdom of Greece. The population of Berar is, however, 2,220,074 (1867), while that of Greece was only 1,096,810 (1861). The area of Berar is of a very varied character. To the north the Satpura mountains attain a height of nearly 4,000 feet above the sea, and descend very abruptly to the south into the valley of the Púrna river, or, as it is more generally termed, the valley of Berar. There are extensive plateaux along their summits, which break into long ravines which descend northwards to the Tapti river. All of these plateaux possess a cool temperate climate, and on one of them, near the fort of Gawilgurh, a sanatorium has been formed, which, in the hot weather, is used by the English residents of the valley, and even by families from Nagpoor. Throughout this bold range the scenery is very varied and beautiful; but beyond the patches of land cultivated by the Gonds, Korkoos, and other mountain tribes, there is no cultivation. This tract, however, is well wooded, and the forests, under the conservancy now instituted, produce

fine teak and other timber, while the grassy plateaux, and their ravines, support large herds of cattle.

On the south of the valley, at a distance in some parts of sixty miles, rises one of the trap elevations of the Deccan, which is known under the appellation of the Ajunta Hills. They are not so high as the Sátpura range, and though they break abruptly into the valley to the north, descend very gradually and in a series of shallow valleys towards the Pain Gungah river, rising again beyond it and again breaking in irregular masses for a long distance. Near the southern frontier is situated the very remarkable lake of Lonar, which has all the appearance of a volcanic crater. It is rather more

than a mile in diameter: the sides are precipitous, and exceed five hundred feet in height, and at their foot the waters of the lake have an area of about three miles in circumference. They are bitter and salt, and as they partially evaporate, leave a deposit of soda on the shore, which is collected and sold for purposes of dyeing, producing a considerable amount of revenue. Lonar has always been considered a memorable place, as well from its productions, as the wonderful character of the crater. The ancient temple which exists there is a place of Hindoo pilgrimage, and it is constantly visited by devotees of all classes. Beautiful, and curious as it is in a geological sense, the true character of the lake-whether a depression subsequent to the great local eruption of basalt and trap which overflowed the country, or the actual crater from which the eruption issued-has not as yet been decided by geologists.

The plain of the valley of Berar is the chief feature of the province. It is from forty to sixty miles broad, very gradually sloping from the bases of its boundary mountains to the bed of the Purna river, which runs through the centre, and eventually joins the Tapti. The whole of this tract is occupied by soil of the richest description and highest agricultural value. Near the mountains on both sides the soil is gravelly or stony, and shallower than in the centre; but in it is grown the finest cotton, sugar-cane, ginger, turmeric, and other valuable garden produce. In the central portions the depth of the pure black alluvial soil sometimes reaches, if it does not exceed, forty feet, and is of unsurpassable strength and richness, cultivated from year to year in a succession of crops almost without manure. In this portion of the valley lies the greatest proportion of cotton cultivation, with wheat, sorghum, barley, and pulse. It is now thickly populated, and with its railway and active trade, presents a gratifying spectacle of advancement and prosperity. On the Balaghat, or uplands beyond the southern

range of mountains, the soil is generally thin and stony, producing wheat, millet, pulse and other cereals; but there are many fertile valleys between the ridges of low trap hills, in which cotton-though it is inferior in staple to that of the great valley-sugar-cane, and garden produce of all kinds are raised under irrigation from wells, and the small streams which form the tributaries of the Pain Gungah and the Wurdha.

From this very brief description of Berar, it will be understood, we think, that in all respects it is a beautiful and interesting tract, not only in the highest degree fertile, but diversified in scenery to an unusual degree in India. Nothing within the limits of their elevation can exceed the picturesque character of the ravines and glens about the noble fortresses of Gawilgurh and Narnalla; while along their bases, their graceful outlines harmonise with the soft effects of the level and often well-wooded character of the valley, and its luxuriant cultivation. In such a tract many particular objects of great natural beauty must necessarily exist, and had we more space at our disposal, many might be described; but the grand situation of Gawilgurh, which occupies a promontory of the Satpura range, joined to the plateau beyond by a very narrow neck of rock, with its stupendous ravines on each side, and the view up and down the valley from the highest point of the southern face; its wonderful fortifications and remains of royal splendour-cannot be omitted. Nor yet Narnalla, with its magnificent gate, a noble specimen of florid Pathan architecture, and its curious water cisterns covered with arches; its varied scenery and massive walls, which seem to be imperishable. These were the strongholds of the Mahomedan kings of the valley, and may have been of Hindoo princes before them;-evidences of mighty labour, perseverance, and skill in execution and of troublous times, which have now passed away, we may hope, for ever. Not far from the city of Ellichpoor is the wild, lovely glen of Mukhtagherry, with its numerous groups of Jain temples built upon a ledge of rock between two fine waterfalls; the upper, descending from the crest of the range, being upwards of a hundred feet in perpendicular height, the second, below the space on which the temples stand, somewhat less; the whole combination of falling water, quaint buildings, and luxuriant foliage, forming an effect picturesque and original in the highest degree. Berar is remarkable also for another peculiar natural phenomenon, the salt wells in the district of Akola. Many of them are from ninety to one hundred and twenty feet in depth. and appear to communicate with a subterranean salt lake of unknown extent and depth. Up to a late period, salt for the

use of the province and for exportation to the northwards, was made from these wells; but since the railway has been established, better salt can be obtained at cheaper rates from the coast, and the local manufacture has ceased. The salt was, however, of excellent quality, but somewhat bitter perhaps in comparison with sea salt.

The early history of Berar, like that of most other provinces of India, is very obscure. It is probable, however, that it formed the northernmost possession of the Chalúkya kingdom, which, according to an inscription, existed in power 489 B.C., and reigned over part of the central and southern portions of India. The finest temples in Berar, chiefly in the southern portions of it, are undoubtedly of the Chalúkyan style of architecture. The Chalúkyan dynasty was subverted, first by the Kálá Bhúryas in A.D. 1182, and they in turn by the Yádavas; but the Chalúkyas had gradually declined in power from the fifth century A.D. Berar may have therefore been lost by them at an earlier period than their final subversion, and fallen to the Yádavas, whose capital was Déogurh, the modern Dowlutabad, and who were unquestionably one of the greatest of the ancient Hindoo dynasties of the Deccan. The local chieftains in Berar seem, however, to have been the shepherds, and heads of aboriginal tribes, who held the fastnesses of Aseergurh, Narnalla, and Gawilgurh; but of them history affords no trace, except in the single instance of Asa, Aheer, 'or Cowherd,' who was treacherously put to death, with his family, by Mullik Nusseer, King of Khandésh, in 1410, and appears to have been the last of these shepherd kings.

When the first invasion of the Deccan by the Mahomedans under Alla-ood-deen occurred, in A.D. 1294, Ellichpoor and its dependencies were found in possession of Rajah 'Il, or Eell; but whether he was an independent prince, or viceroy of Berar under the Yádava King of Déogurh, is not known. In an action which took place near the city of Ellichpoor, the Rajah lost his life, and the Mahomedan victor passed on to Déogurh, which was eventually reduced, and the dominion of the Mahomedans subsequently established under the Emperor Mahomed Toghluk, who attempted to remove his government from Dehly to Déogurh, now called Dowlutabad. In 1351 a revolution occurred in the Deccan. Zuffur Khan, the general of the Emperor Mahomed Toghluk, declared his independence, and founded the dynasty called Bahmuny, the capital of which was Goolburgah. This dynasty under successive sovereigns became very powerful, and to it the stupendous works of Gawilgurh and Narnalla are to be attributed. Berar con

tinued subject to the Bahmuny dynasty till the year A.D. 1484, when Futteh Ooolla Imád Shah, the viceroy of the province, declared his independence and maintained it. His example was followed by others, and on the ruins of the Bahmuny kingdom the separate monarchies of Beejapoor, Ahmednugger, and Golkonda were founded. It was a troubled period, and the separate kingdoms were engaged in almost perpetual wars with each other. Berar, as the least powerful, was the first to fall; and, after many vicissitudes, the Imád Shahy dynasty closed with Boorhan Imád Shah, whose dominions were annexed by Ahmednugger in A.D. 1527.

Revolutions and constant distractions in Ahmednugger, eventually brought on interference by the Emperor Akbur; and the Moghul armies, led by the Crown Prince, Moorád Buksh, finally advanced upon the capital in the year 1595 and laid siege to it. After an heroic defence by the Queen Dowager, Chánd Beebee, she purchased peace by the cession of Berar, which thenceforward became an integral portion of the dominions of Dehly. Whatever may have been the condition of the province before this event, it is certain that while the direct local administration of the Moghul empire lasted, it was well conducted and enjoyed the confidence of the people. For a brief period after Akbur's death, in 1605, the kingdom of Ahmednugger, under its great Minister and Regent, Mullik Umbur, recovered Berar, when it was re-surveyed and reassessed under the Regent's principle, which was, in the main, founded upon the system of Akbur. the system of Akbur. This settlement was made in 1612, and Mullik Umbur died in 1628, when, after a brief and stormy interval, the province again fell to the Moghuls, and remained under their administration.

The system of the Imperial Government and that of Mullik Umbur was the measurement of the arable lands; and upon their assumed capabilities of production an estimate of the value of their produce followed. Akbur's survey provided an assessment of one-fourth the produce of each bigha of say 3,600 square yards, though it varied in area. Mullik Umbur's was a money-rent, the amount of which was decided upon the same principle. From this rating, says Mr. Lyall (p. 247), were omitted, it seems, lands which were barren, had never been broken up, or had run entirely to waste. Thus, the Tunkhwah, or standard rent-roll of a 'pergunna, may have been fixed in Akbur's time at 100,000 rupees on a measurement of 75,000 bighas by a rating of 14 rupees per bigha, which would show about the extent of