Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 15.djvu/72

Rh .58 L U D - L U D recorded harvests, when wheat rose from 52s. Gd. to 103s. a quarter (in Yorkshire it was more than a guinea a bushel), when the corn was still green in October, and the potato crop was a failure. In that year, though the centre of the rioting was again in Nottingham, it extended over almost the whole kingdom, and took more decidedly the form of a general discontent and seditious restlessness. The rioters were also thoroughly organized. While part of the band with extraordinary quickness and thoroughness destroyed the machinery in the houses, sentinels were posted to give warning of the approach of the military and police ; and all had generally disappeared before the least risk of discovery. Under the influence of vigorous re pressive measures, and especially of reviving prosperity, the spirit of rioting ere long died out. See the Annual Register for the years concerned; Life of Lord Sidmouth, by the Hon. George Pellew, dean of Norwich, vol. iii. ; and Spencer Walpole, History of England, vol. i. LUDHlANA, a district in the lieutenant-governorship of the Punjab, India, lying between 30 33 and 31 1 N. lat. and between 75 24 30&quot; and 70 27 E. long., is bounded on the N. by the Sutlej river, on the E. by Umballa (Ambala) district, on the S. by Patiala, Nabha, and Maler Kotla states, and on the W. by Firozpur district. The surface of Ludhiana consists for the most part of a broad plain, without hills or rivers, and stretching north ward from the native borders to the ancient bed of the Sutlej. The soil is composed of a rich clay, broken by large patches of shifting sand. On the eastern edge, towards Umballa, the soil improves greatly, the clay being here surmounted by a bed of rich mould, suitable for the cultivation of cotton and sugar-cane. Towards the west the sand occurs in union with the superficial clay, and forms a light friable soil, on which cereals form the most profitable crop. Even here, however, the earth is so retentive of moisture that gooi harvests are reaped from fields which appear to the eye mere stretches of dry and sindy waste, but are covered, after the autumn rains, by waving sheets of wheat and millet. These southern uplands descend to the valley of the Sutlej by an abrupt terrace, which marks the former bsd of the river. The principal stream has now shifted to the opposite side of the valley, leaving a broad alluvial strip, 10 miles in width, between its ancient and its modem bed. The Sutlej itself is here only navigable for boats of small burden. A branch of the Sirhind Canal, now in course of construction, will irrigate a large part of the western pargands. At present irrigation is almost entirely confined to wells. The district is singularly bare of trees. The census of 1868 returned a total population of 583,245 persons (319,342 males and 263,903 females), spread over an area of 1359 square miles, inhabiting 879 villages and towns, and 151,934 houses. Hindus numbered 219,371 ; Mohammedans, 206,603 ; Sikhs, 95,463 ; and &quot;others,&quot; 61,858. In* ethnical classification the Jats rank first, both in number (205,304) and in agricultural importance ; they form one-third of the total population, and nearly two-thirds of the cultivating class. The Gujars come next with 30,009 persons. Rajputs number 23,961, and cluster thickly in the fertile strip along the bank of the Sutlej. Though they hold the richest portion pf the district, they are but careless and improvident cultivators. Brahmans number 21,165, but their social importance is small, and they own but a single village. The mercantile classes are repre sented by 15,251 Kshattriyas and 8174 Banias. There are also 5549 Kashmiris, employed in weaving shawls and woollen goods. Four towns were returned in 1868 as containing upwards of 5000 inhabitants, viz., Ludhiana, 39,983 ; Raikot, 9165 ; Jagraon, 7096 ; and Machiwara, 6062. Ludhiana is a flourishing agricultural dis trict in spite of the general unpromising appearance of its soil, a result mainly attributable to the untiring diligence of its Jat culti vators. Almost all the available land has been brought under the plough, and in many villages no waste land is left for pasturage, the cattle being fed from cultivated produce. Under rail or spring crops there were in 1872-73 198,279 acres of wheat, 30,620 of barley, 162,649 of gram, and 576 of poppy. The kharif or rain crops comprised 129,589 acres of jodr, 49,047 of Indian corn, 55,293 of moth, and 15,894 of cotton. In spite of their industrious habits, many of the peasantry are deeply in debt, and -the rate of interest is high. Most of the land is held by tenants-at-will. Agricultural labourers are paid in grain ; in the towns, unskilled labour is paid at the rate of from 3d. to 4Jd. per diem. Ludhiana is comparatively free from danger of actual famine, though it suffers much from drought. The exports, of which the annual value is estimated at 377,120, are chiefly confined to grain, cotton, wool, saltpetre, and indigo ; the principal imports (365,552) are English goods, spices, and red madder dye. Manufactures include shawls, pashmina cloth, stockings, gloves, cotton goods, furniture, carriages, and fire arms. Eight large silk factories and upwards of four hundred private silk-looms give employment to over three thousand persons. Com munication is afforded by the Sind, Punjab, and Delhi Railway, which runs through the centre of the district, and by several lines of good metalled roads. The administrative staff of the district comprises a deputy com missioner, with an assistant and two extra assistants, a small-cause court judge, and three tahsllddrs, besides the usual medical and con stabulary officers. The total revenue in 1872-73 was 103,795, of which 85,215 was contributed by the land tax. Education in 1873 was afforded by 184 schools, of which 68 were in receipt of Government grants in aid ; the total number of enrolled pupils was 6733. In the upland portion of the district the atmosphere is dry and healthy ; in the Sutlej valley, however, the air is extremely noxious after the rainy season floods, and fever prevails often in an epidemic form ; ophthalmia is also common. The mean temperature in 1872 was 87 59 Fahr. in May, 85 67 in July, and 54 85 in December, the maximum being 117, and the mini mum 31. The average annual rainfall is 28 inches. History. Though the present town of Ludhiana dates no farther back than the 15th century, other cities in the district can claim a much greater antiquity. At Sunet, close to the modern station, are ruins of an extensive brick-built town, whose greatness had already passed away before the period of Mohammedan invasion ; and the old Hindu city of Machiwara is of still earner date, being mentioned in the Malidbhdrata. During the Mussulman epoch, the history of the district is bound up with that of the Rais of Raikot, a family of converted Rajputs, who received the country as a fief under the Sayyid dynasty, about the year 1445. The town of Ludhiana was founded in 1480 by two of the Lodi race (then ruling at Delhi), from whom it derives its name, and was built in great part from the prehistoric bricks of Sunet. The Lodis continued in possession until 1620, when it again fell into the hands of the Rais of Raikot. Throughout the palmy days of the Mughal empire the Raikot family held sway, but the Sikhs took advantage of the troubled period which accompanied the Mughal decadence to estab lish their supremacy south of the Sutlej. Several of their chieftains made encroachments on the domains of the Rais, who were only able to hold their own by the aid of George Thomas, the famous adventurer of Hariana. In 1806 Ranjit Sinn crossed the Sutlej and reduced the obstinate Mohammedan family, and distributed their territory amongst his own co-religionists. Since the British occupa tion of the Punjab Ludhiana has grown in wealth and population, but its history has been uneventful. LUDHIANA, the chief town and headquarters station of Ludhiana district, is situated on the south bank of the old bed of the Sutlej, 8 miles from the present bed of the river, in 30 55 25&quot; N. lat. and 75 53 30&quot; E. long. The population in 1868 was 39,983, viz., Mohammedans, 27,860; Hindus, 10,208; Sikhs, 45; Christians, 79; &quot;others,&quot; 1791. The Kashmiris retain their hereditary skill as weavers of shawls and pashmina cloth, the value of the quantity exported -in 1871-72 being returned at 13,350. Shawls of the soft Rampur wool, cotton cloths, scarfs, turbans, furniture, and carriages also form large items in the thriving trade of the town. Since the open ing of the railway Ludhiana has become a great central grain mart, having extensive export transactions both with the north and south. The American Presbyterian Mission has a church and school, with a small colony of native Christians. The town bears a bad reputation for un- healthiness. LUDLOW, a municipal and parliamentary borough and market-town of Shropshire, England, is situated at the junction of the Teme and Corve on the borders of Here fordshire, 27 miles south-east from Shrewsbury and 10 north from Leominster. The old castle, on an eminence above the Teme, presents an imposing and massive appearance, the Norman towers and the greater part of the walls being