A'GRA, a British district in the lieutenant-governorship of the North-western Prov inces, bounded it and e. by the districts of Muttra, Minpooree and Etawah, s. and w. by the territories of Dhortpore, Gwalior and Bhurtpore. Its area is 1908 sq.m. The surface of the country is for the most part very level, the principal elevation of the Futtehpore Sikri hills, a sandstone range on the w. frontier, being about 700 ft. The principal rivers are the Juntna—flOwing along the n.e. frontier, and its tributary the Chumbul (along the southern boundary), both of which are too deep in the channel to be of much avail for irrigation. The district generally is, in consequence, deficient in water, and the failure of the rains in some seasons (as in 1837, 1838) has been followed by severe famine. The temperature has a wide range, being, during the hot winds of April, May and June, so high that the city of A. is scarcely habitable by Europeans, while in .Ian. severe frosts occur at night, though the thermometer at midday is high. The most important commercial product is cotton, which generally occupies about a tenth of the arable land. There are two crops yearly—the spring crop, con sisting of various grains (wheat, barley, oats, etc.), leguminous plants, flax, tobacco,
etc., the autumnal crop of maize, mung, moth, melons, etc. The cultivation of rice is very limited, owing to the want of 'water. The pop. in '72 was 1,096,367, of whom about 100,000 were Mohammedans, Europeans, etc., the rest Hindoos. Of the Ilindoo population, about two thirds are agricultural; of the rest about one "divi sion" of A., which constitutes one of seven in the :North-western Provinces, embraces the districts of A., Muttra, Furruckabad, Minpooree, Etawah and Etah, and contains an area of 10,164 sq.m., with a pop. in '72 of 5,040,919. In 1833 it was resolved (3 and 4 Will. IV. cap. 85) to divide the Bengal 'Presidency into two, one of which was to be called the A. Presidency. This act was never carried into effect, and a subsequent act suspended its operation, substituting the present arrangement. See NORTH-WESTERN PROVLNCES. Till 1862, the city of A. was the seat of the lieutenant-governor, from which circumstance that functionary was sometimes called the lieutenant-governor of A.