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 BHOPAL—BIBERACH Bhopal, a native state of India, in the Central India agency, has an area of 6874 square miles. In 1881 it had a population of 954,901 ; and in 1891 of 952,486, giving an average density of 138 persons per square mile. The estimated revenue is Its.40,00,000, and it pays a subsidy of Ks.2,00,000 for the Bhopal battalion. For three generations the ruler has been a woman. Sultan Shah Begum succeeded on the death of her mother in June 1901. Besides the Bhopal battalion, a regiment of imperial service cavalry is maintained, under the name of the Victoria Lancers. There is a branch railway from Itarsi to Bhopal city, continued to Jhansi. The British currency has been introduced, and in 1897-98, Rs.71,00,000 of Bhopali coins were converted. The residence of the political agent and the headquarters of the Bhopal battalion are at Sehore, 20 miles west of Bhopal city. The city of Bhopal, a railway station, had a population in 1881 of 55,402; and in 1891, of 70,338. The palace, with its rock fortress, is called Fatehgarh. An excellent water-supply has been provided from two large artificial lakes. There are two hospitals. In 1897-98 the exports of opium were 678 chests, paying a duty of Rs.3,67,500. The state suffered very severely from famine in 18991900. The preliminary returns of the census of 1901 showed a decrease of no less than 40 per cent, in the population of the Bhopal agency, which is not co-extensive with the state of Bhopal. Bhor, a native state of India, in the Deccan division of Bombay, forming one of the Satara Jagirs; situated among the higher peaks of the Western Ghats. Its area covers 1491 square miles. The population in 1881 was 145,876; in 1891 it was 155,659, giving an average density of 104 persons per square mile; and in 1901 it was 137,269, showing a decrease of 12 per cent.; the estimated gross revenue is Rs.4,30,528; the tribute, Rs.4643 ; the military force numbers 117 men ; the number of schools is 35, with 1328 pupils. The chief, whose title is Pant Sachiv, is a Brahman by caste. The town of Bhor is situated in 18° 9' N. lat. and 73r° 53' E. long., 25 miles south of Poona. In 1891 the population was 5250. There is a state printing press. The Bhor Ghat, on the northern border of the state, has always been the main pass over the Western Ghats, or means of communication between the sea-coast and the Deccan. Since 1861 it has been traversed by the main line of the Great Indian Peninsula railway. Bhuj, a town of India, the capital of the native state of Cutch, in the Gujarat division of Bombay, is situated in 23° 15' N. lat. and 69° 48' E. long., at the base of a fortified hill. In 1881 it had a population of 22,308, and in 1891 of 25,421. It contains some interesting examples of architecture ; a high school, with 131 pupils in 1896-97 ; a school of art; a library; and a state printing press. Bhutan, a country of the eastern Himalaya, between the Brahmaputra and the southern face of the mountains. Information respecting it accumulates but slowly. In 1873, Captain Godwin Austen accompanied Sir Ashley Eden’s mission to the court of the Deb Raja, and made a survey of the route to Punaka. There has also been a certain amount of geographical sketching combined with trigonometrical observations; and there are the route surveys of native explorers. In 1887-88 two native Indian explorers “R. N.” and “ P. A.” traversed a part of Western Bhutan, but were forced to retire owing to the disturbed state of the districts. They re-entered the country on the east from Dewangiri. Here they explored the Kuru, or Lhobrak Chu, which proves to be the largest river in Bhutan. It drains the tract between

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the Yamdok Tso and Tigu Lakes, and is fed by the glaciers of the Kulha Kangri and other great ranges. The Lhobrak was finally identified with the Honds river, a geographical discovery of some importance. A previously unknown tribe, the Chingmis, were discovered in Eastern Bhutan, who are socially on a higher level than the Bhutias, and differ from them chiefly in the matter of wearing pigtails. The Monla Kachung pass (17,500 feet), by which “ R. N.” crossed into Tibet, is nearly on the meridian of Gualpara, and is one of the most important passes between Bhutan and Tibet. East of Bhutan, amongst the semi-independent hill states which sometimes own allegiance to Tibet and sometimes assert complete freedom from all authority, the geographical puzzle of the course of the Sangpo, the great river of Tibet, has been solved by the researches of Captain Harman, and the explorations of the native surveyor “ K. P.” The Sangpo has been definitely ascertained to be the same river as the Brahmaputra. The tracts inhabited by the aboriginal tribes entitled Lo Nakpo, Lo Karpo, and Lo Tawa (“Lo” signifies “barbarous” in Tibetan), are described as a pleasant country; the lands on either side of the Sangpo being well cultivated and planted with mangoes, plantains, and oranges. Nothing is known with certainty about the area and population of Bhutan, the former being estimated at 16,800 square miles. The government is nominally vested in a temporal and a spiritual sovereign known as the Deb Raja and the Dharm Raja. Recently official correspondence has been written in the name of the latter instead of the former, but it is not known whether this change possesses any special significance. The people are Buddhists in religion. Trade between Bhutan and Bengal is registered at stations in Jalpaiguri district. In 1897-98 the exports were valued at Rs. 1,08,000, chiefly wax, musk, wool, ponies, cattle, fruit and vegetables; the imports were valued at Rs. 1,37,000, chiefly cotton piece goods, betel nuts, tobacco, rice, and metals. Some trade is also conducted at fairs on the Assam frontier. Report on Explorations in Sikkim, Bhutan, and Tibet. Deva Dun, 1889.—Tanner. “Our present Knowledge of the Himalayas,” R.G.S. Proceedings, vol. xiii. (t. h. H.*) Biala, the chief town of a government-district in Galicia, Austria, opposite Bielitz, on the river Biala, which at this point forms the boundary between Galicia and Austrian Silesia. It is the chief seat of the Galician textile industry, and an important market for pigs. Population (1890), 7622 (of whom 5493 were Germans); (1900), 8265, Biancavilla, a town of the province of Catania, Sicily, Italy, situated at the S.W. foot of Mount Etna, 19 miles N.W. from Catania by rail. It is famous for its oranges, and has flour mills. An Albanian colony was settled here in 1480. Population, about 13,500. Biarritz, a seaside resort of France, department of Basses-Pyrenees, in the arrondissement of Bayonne, 61 miles in direct line W. by N. of Pau, on the railway from Paris via Bordeaux and Bayonne. Its present popularity is chiefly due to its having been a favourite place of sojourn of the Emperor Napoleon III. and the Empress Eugenie. The town extends in irregular form for nearly two miles along the rugged coast. It is entirely modern, and the chief feature is the casino, finished in 1901. There is an English season early in the year, a Spanish season in the summer, and a Russian season in the autumn. It is connected with Bayonne by a local railway and a tramway. Population (1881), 6488; (1896), 10,544, (comm.) 11,869; (1901), 12,812. Biberach, a town of Wurtemberg, Germany, 23 S. II. — 31