Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition/Tumkur

TUMKUR, or Toomkoor, a district of India, in the west of the Nandidrúg division of Mysore, situated between 12° 43′ and 14° 10′ N. lat. and 76° 10′ and 77° 30′ E. long., with an area of 3420 square miles. It is bounded on the north by the Bellary district, on the east by Kolar and Bangalore, on the south by Mysore, and on the west by Chitaldrúg and Hassan. Tumkur consists chiefly of elevated land intersected by river valleys. A range of hills rising to nearly 4000 feet crosses it from north to south, and forms the water-parting between the systems of the Krishna and the Káveri. The principal streams are the Jayamangala and the Shimsha. The mineral wealth of Tumkur is considerable: iron is obtained in large quantities from the hill sides; and excellent building stone is quarried. The slopes of the Devaráy-durga Hills, a tract of 18 square miles, are clothed with forests, in which large game are numerous, including tigers, leopards, bears, and wild hogs. The climate of Tumkur is generally considered as equable and healthy; the average annual rainfall amounts to nearly 33 inches. The Mysore State Railway enters the district at the south-east corner and traverses it to the west.

In 1881 the population of Tumkur numbered 413,183 (males 203,253, females 209,930), embracing 395,443 Hindus, 17,130 Mohammedans, and 603 Christians. Tumkur town, situated at the base of the Devaráy-durga Hills, 43 miles north-west of Bangalore, with a population of 9909, is the administrative headquarters. The cultivated products consist chiefly of rági, millet, wheat, sugar-cane, various pulses, and oil seeds. Of the total area 745 square miles are cultivated and 1544 cultivable. The chief industries are the making of coarse cotton cloths, woollen blankets, and ropes. The exports comprise rági, unhusked rice, cocoa-nuts, areca-nuts, earth salt, pulses, and vegetables; the imports include European piece goods, rice, spices, cotton, &c.

The history of Tumkur is common to the rest of Mysore. After the assumption of the administration of Mysore by the British in 1832 the district received its present name and limits.