150 THE BRITISH EMPIRE: — INDIA AND DEPENDENCIES Irrigation works, for which ca^iital accounts are kept, paid 6 '4 per cent. in 1896-97 on their capital outlay. The estimated value of the crops irrigated in 1896-97 was 46 crores of rupees. The Ganges Canal, which w^as completed in 1854, and has cost Rx. 2,985,081, comprises 440 miles of main canal, and 2,643 miles of dis- tributaries. During the year it supplied water to 1,083,234 acres. The Sirhind Canal, in the Punjab, has cost upwards of Rx. 3,793,578, and con- sists of 542 miles of main canal, and 4,655 miles of distributaries. In Madras the Godavari, Kistna, and Cauvery irrigation systems together irrigate upwards of 2,151,604 acres. In 1895-96 there M-ere nearly 76,500 square miles of forest demarcated and reserved by the State. The work of demarcating and reserving forest tracts has been pushed on with great vigour in recent years, and especially since 1877. In that year the demarcated area was only 17,705 square miles ; in the following year it was raised by operations in the Central Provinces to 40,425 square miles. The following table shows the extent of reserved forests in 1896-97 in square miles : — Sq. miles i Sq. miles Central Provinces 19,258 i Bengal . . 5,876 Bombay . . 12,986 j Madras . . 13,138 Burma . . 14,058 | N.W.P.and Oudh 3,822 There were 154 cotton mills at work in India in 1896-97, containing 37,303 looms and 3,975,719 spindles, employing a daily average number of 148,997 persons. The whole capital invested in this industry is Rx. 13,679,277 and Fr. 5,000,000. There were 31 jute mills and one hemp mill in 1896-97, employing a daily average number of 91,389 persons, with 12,784. looms and 258,154 spindles. The capital invested in the joint stock mills is estimated at Rx. 4,395,825. There were five woollen mills at work at the close of 1897, with 548 looms and 19,856 spindles. There are eight paper mills, having an aggregate nominal capital of Rx. 627,200, the number of persons ein])loyed being 3,532. The total quantity of paper made in 1897 was about 38^ million lbs., vahu'(l at over Rx. 568,000. The quantity of beer brewed during 1897 amounted to 5,428,383 gallons. In March, 1897, there were 1,596 joint stock companies in India registered under the Indian Com])anies' Act and in operation. They possessed a total nominal capital aggregating Rx. 49,562,286, and an actual capital (paid up) of Rx. 31,156,559. The following table shows the division of the aggregate capital among the principal classes of joint stock companies in March, 1897 : —
Sq. miles Assam . 3,681 Punjab . 1,681 Berars . 4,179
