Vegetation, Agriculture.— Wood is scarce, except upon the hills. In the west consider able areas are occupied by date-trees; and palms of other species, banyans and other trees are found here and there. The area under for ests is over 4,250,000 acres. About 28000000 acres of the remainder are under cultivation, and over 20,000,000 acres more are available for cultivation. The principal grain crops are wheat, barley, rice, buckwheat and millet pease, vetches and mustard; sesamum and other oil seeds, turnips, carrots, onions, cucum bers and melons. Indigo and sugar are ex ported. The tobacco plant grows luxuriantly, especially about Multan, and opium has been grown somewhat extensively. About 8,750,000 acres are under wheat, and over 750,000 under rice. The total irrigated area exceeds 9,000,000 acres, of which more than half is irrigated by canals. Among the fruits are the date, orange, fig, vine, apple, mulberry, banana and mango.
The livestock includes sheep, cattle, horses and camels; buffaloes are common.
People.— The population of the Punjab is composed of various races, the chief of which are the Jats, Rajputs and Pathans. The Jats form the bulk of the agricultural peasantry, and are tall and athletic, with handsome, open countenances, long beards and fine teeth. The people, generally, are in physical respects supe rior to those of Bengal. The native states subordinate to the Punjab government are 36 in number. Thirty-one are Hindu and five Mohammedan. The most important is Kash mir, the next Patiala. The Mohammedan state ,of Bahawalpur is the next followed in order by Kapurthala, Mandi, Sarmur, Farid kot and Malarkotla. The other states are in significant in rank and consequence.
Religion.— The religion of the Sikhs, which is the national religion of the Punjab, was founded by Nanak, who was born A. D. 1469. The Golden Temple at Amritsar is the centre of the faith and the guardian of the sacred book known as the Adi Granth (see SiKxs). The distribution of the population according to religious profession is almost wholly Moham medan and Hindu, there being some Sikhs, and a sprinkling of other religions. The American Presbyterian Board of Missions has important stations at Lahore, Ludianah and Umballa. Lahore is the seat of both a Church of England bishop and a Roman Catholic bishop. The Mohammedans form a very large part of the population of the Rawal Pindee and Multan divisions. The Hindus predomi nate in the easterly divisions and in the moun tainous district of Kangra. The Sikhs reside
chiefly in the centre and east of the province and constitute the mass of the gentry. The few Buddhists of the Punjab are almost en tirely confined to the small Spito district in the extreme northeast. The Pathans and Baluchis are the most numerous of the Punjab Moham medans by race, but the Mohammedan strength i consists largely in converted Hindus belonging to the Jat and Rajput tribes. The Hindu Jats form a large proportion of the population.
Language and Edttcation.— The chief lan guages spoicen in the runtaa are runjata (known as Gurmukhi), Hindi, Sindhi, Jataki, Kashmiri, Pnshtu, Persian and English. Since the country came under British rule elementary education has received much attention. The total number of educational institutions in the Punjab is about 8,000, with a total of over a quarter of a million scholars. Of the higher educational institutions of the province the fol lowing may be mentioned:—the Punjab Uni versity at Lahore; Lahore Government Col lege; Oriental College; Saint Stephen's College, Delhi; Lahore Medical School; Saint Thomas College, Murree; the Khalsa College, Amrit sar; Bishop Cotton School, Simla; and the Lawrence Military Asylum, Sanawar.
Manufactures and Trade.— The manufac turing industry of the Punjab is chiefly confined to the larger towns. Lahore, Mul tan and Shujabad are distinguished for their silk and cotton fabrics, and the silks of Mul tan called kris, and chiefly used for scarfs, possess a strength of texture and brilliancy of color for which they are much prized in the Indian markets. The shawls of Lahore, too, rank only second to those of Kashmir. Bro cades, tissues and carpets, resembling the Per sian, are also manufactured in the capital. In the east of the Punjab white cotton goods are prepared of a stronger and more durable tex ture, as well as cheaper, than those of British manufacture. The Punjab enjoys from its position an extensive transit-trade. The im ports comprise sugar, spices and other gro ceries, dye-stuffs and cottons, woolen and silk fabrics, metals and metallic utensils, cutlery, precious stones, ivory, glass and cochineal, asafcetida, safflower, fresh and dried fruits, wool, horses, etc. The exports — partly of home produce, partly in transit—comprise grain, ghee, hides, wool, silk and cotton fab rics, carpets and shawls, raw silk and cotton, indigo, tobacco, hardware, horses, etc.