hich are hardy in southern England and Ireland; _A. nudiflora_, a North
American shrub, 3-4 ft. high, which hybridizes freely with _A.
calendulacea_, _A. pontica_ and others, to produce single and [v.03 p.0079]
double forms of a great variety of shades; _A. pontica_ (Levant, Caucasus,
&c.), 4-6 ft. high, with numerous varieties differing in the colour of the
flowers and the tint of the leaves; _A. sinensis_ (China and Japan), a
beautiful shrub, 3-4 ft. high, with orange-red or yellow bell-shaped
flowers, hardy in the southern half of England, large numbers of varieties
being in cultivation under the name of Japanese azaleas.

AZAMGARH, or AZIMGARH, a city and district of British India, in the
Gorakhpur division of the United Provinces. The town is situated on the
river Tons, and has a railway station. It is said to have been founded
about 1665 by a powerful landholder named Azim Khan, who owned large
estates in this part of the country. Pop. (1901) 18,835.

The area of the district is 2207 sq. m. It is bounded on the N. by the
river Gogra, separating it from Gorakhpur district; on the E. by Ghazipur
district and the river Ganges; on the S. by the districts of Jaunpur and
Ghazipur; and on the W. by Jaunpur and Fyzabad. The portion of the district
lying along the banks of the Gogra is a low-lying tract, varying
considerably in width; south of this, however, the ground takes a slight
rise. The slope of the land is from north-west to south-east, but the
general drainage is very inadequate. Roughly speaking, the district
consists of a series of parallel ridges, whose summits are depressed into
beds or hollows, along which the rivers flow; while between the ridges are
low-lying rice lands, interspersed with numerous natural reservoirs. The
soil is fertile, and very highly cultivated, bearing magnificent crops of
rice, sugar-cane and indigo. There are several indigo factories. A branch
of the Bengal & North-Western railway to Azamgarh town was opened in 1898.
In 1901 the population was 1,529,785, showing a decrease of 11% in the
decade. The district was ceded to the Company in 1801 by the wazirs of
Lucknow. In 1857 it became a centre of mutiny. On the 3rd of June 1857 the
17th Regiment of Native Infantry mutinied at Azamgarh, murdered some of
their officers, and carried off the government treasure to Fyzabad. The
district became a centre of the fighting between the Gurkhas and the
rebels, and was not finally cleared until Octob