UNITED PROVINCES OF AGRA AND OUDH, formerly NORTHWESTERN PROVINCES AND (Mal. A province of British India. occupying the Upper Ganges Valley. It is bounded by Tibet, Nepal, Bengal, the native States of Central India, Ilajputana, and the Punjab (Map: India, C 3). Total area, 112,243 square miles, of which 83, 198 belong to the Territory of Agra. 23.906 to Oudh, and 5079 to the native States of Gathwal and Rampur. Except the extreme northern part, which is a wild and elevated mountain re gion of the Himalayas, the province is a low alluvial plain watered by the Ganges and its numerous large parallel tributaries. chief of which is the Jumna. The climate is hot and un healthful, especially in the large, marshy jungle region along the base of the mountains. The soil is fertile, but the western and southern parts of the province have a very uncertain rainfall, and are subject to severe droughts, so that these region's would be practically a desert were it not for their numerous large streams.
Extensive irrigation works have been con structed. The area irrigated in 1900 was esti mated at 8.234,000 acres, o• about one-third of the total cropped area. About two-thirds of this area was irrigated from wells and the re mainder principally from reservoirs (tanks) and Government canals. The different crops produced are of more nearly equal importance than in any other province. The region ranks next to the Punjab as a wheat producer, and though rice is of much less relative imnpo•tance than it is in Ben gal and some of the other provinces, it covers almost as great an extent as does wheat, or about 4,500.000 acres. There are large acreages of millet, pulse, and other food grains. s\ln•e sugar-cane is grown (1,000.000 acres) than in any other governmental district, and opium, cotton-oil seeds. and indigo receive considerable attention. The people eat little animal food, and stock-raising is of subsidiary importance. Cattle
and buffaloes take the place of horses.
Modern methods of manufacturing have been little adopted. There are six cotton mills, em ploying about 7500 hands. Four of these mills are located at Caw•npore. The Ganges affords a means of water transportation. The province is better supplied with railroads than any other in India. It exports large quantities of oil seeds, wheat, raw cotton, bides, sugar, in digo, and opium, and imports cotton goods, metals, railroad materials, coal, and salt. A frontier trade is carried on with Tibet and Nepal.
The United Provinces are under the adminis trative control of a Lieutenant-Governor ap pointed by the Governor-General of India. There is a legislative council of 15 members, of whom 7 may be officials. There are 104 mu nicipalities, in 98 of which the taxpayers elect a majority of the members of the municipal boards. There are also 44 district boards, over four fifths of the aggregate number of board members being elected. There was a police force, in 1898, aggregating 24.888 officers and men. For the year ending March 31, 1901, the revenue collected amounted to $42,325,309, and the expenditure was $20,437,436. Allahabad is the capital.
In 1901 the population of the United Provinces without Ondh (q.v.) numbered 34,812,000. or 417 to the square mile. The eastern part is time most densely populated. A comparison with earlier census returns shows that the population is almost stationary. The people are mainly Hindus. Those who hold to some form of the Hindu religion outnumber the Mohammedans about 7 to 1. The Christians number about 100, 000. There are more large cities in the United Provinces than in any of the other provinces. The chief are Lucknow (in Oudh), Benares, Ca wnpore, Agra, Allahabad. Bareilly, and Meerut.