contributed to the cost, and
own three of the five branches. But the two British branches are
entitled to nearly two-thirds of the water, which is utilized in the
Ludhiana and Ferozepore districts and in the Faridkot State. The soil of
the tract commanded is for the most part a light sandy loam, and in
years of good rainfall it repays dry cultivation. The result is that the
area watered fluctuates largely. But in the six years ending the
interest earned averaged 7 p.c., and the power of expansion in a bad
year is a great boon to the peasantry.

~Canal extensions in Western Panjab.~--In the last quarter of a century
the chief task of the Canal Department in the Panjab has been the
extension of irrigation to the Rechna and Jech Doabs and the lower part
of the Bari Doab. All three contained large areas of waste belonging to
the State, mostly good soil, but incapable of cultivation owing to the
scanty rainfall. Colonization has therefore been an important part of
all the later canal projects. The operations have embraced the
excavation of five canals.

~Lower Chenab Canal.~--The Lower Chenab Canal is one of the greatest
irrigation works in the world, the area commanded being 3-1/3 million
acres, the average discharge four or five times that of the Thames at
Teddington, and the average irrigated area 2-1/4 million acres. There
are three main branches, the Rakh, the Jhang, and the Gugera. The supply
is secured by a great weir built across the Chenab river at Khanki in
the Gujranwala district, and the irrigation is chiefly in the
Gujranwala, Lyallpur, and Jhang districts. In the four years ending the
average interest earned was 28 p.c., and in future the rate should
rarely fall below 30 p.c. The capital expenditure has been a little over
L2,000,000. The interest charges were cleared about five years after the
starting of irrigation, and the capital has already been repaid to the
State twice over.

[Illustration: Fig. 46. Map--Canals.]

~Lower Jhelam Canal.~--The Lower Jhelam Canal, which waters the tract
between the Jhelam and Chenab in the Shahpur and Jhang districts, is a
smaller and less profitable work. The culturable commanded area is about
one million acres. The head-works are at Rasul in the Gujrat district.
Irrigation began in 1901. In the four years ending 1911-12 the average
area watered was 748,000 acres and the interest earned exceeded 10 p.c.

~Triple Project--Upper Jhelam and Upper Chenab Canals and Lower B