irrigation is canals.

Hissar suffered severely from the disorders which followed on the
collapse of the Moghal Empire and its ruin was consummated by the
terrible famine of 1783. The starving people died or fled and for years
the country lay desolate. It passed into the hands of the British 20
years later, but for another 20 years our hold on this outlying
territory was loose and ineffective. In 1857 the troops at Hansi,
Hissar, and Sirsa rose and killed all the Europeans who fell into their
hands. The Muhammadan tribes followed their example, and for a time
British authority ceased to exist. The district was part of the Delhi
territory transferred to the Panjab in 1858.

The rainfall is scanty, averaging 15 inches, and extremely capricious.
No other district suffers so much from famine as Hissar. The crops are
extraordinarily insecure, with a large surplus in a good season and
practically nothing when the rains fail badly. They consist mainly of
the cheap pulses and millets. With such fluctuating harvests it is
impossible to collect the revenues with any regularity, and large sums
have to be suspended in bad seasons.

Such industries as exist are mostly in Hansi and Bhiwani, where there
are mills for ginning and pressing cotton. Cotton cloths tastefully
embroidered with silk, known as _phulkaris_, are a well-known local
product.

[Illustration: Fig. 86.]

[Sidenote: Area, 2248 sq. m.
Cultd area,
1815 sq. m.
Pop. 714,834.
Land Rev.
Rs. 16,66,364
= L111,091.]

~Rohtak~--became a British possession in 1803, but it was not till after
the Mutiny that it was brought wholly under direct British
administration. The old district consisted of the three _tahsils_ of
Rohtak, Gohana, and Jhajar, but on the breaking up of the Delhi district
the Sonepat _tahsil_ was added.

Rohtak is practically a purely agricultural tract with large villages,
but no towns of any importance. By far the most important agricultural
tribe is the Hindu Jats. They are strong-bodied sturdy farmers, who keep
fine oxen and splendid buffaloes, and live in large and well organized
village communities. 37 p.c. of the cultivation is protected by canal
and well irrigation, the former being by far the more important. The
district consists mainly of a plain of good loam soil. There have been
great canal extensions in this plain, which under irrigation is very
fertile, yielding excellent wheat, cotton, and cane. There is a rich
belt of well irrigation