Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 16.djvu/819

Rh M N M O N 789 remarkable of which is Corndon Hill, rising to a height of 1700 feet. In some places the sedimentary rocks have been penetrated by trap mingled with shale or schist. Along the lines of dislocation there are frequent deposits of metallic lodes, carried there by the heated water rising from below. The lead mines of Montgomeryshire are of con siderable importance, and at present the metal is wrought at seven different places. In 1881 the amount of lead ore obtained in the various mines was 3432 tons, yielding 2693 tons of lead and 25,432 oz. of silver, the total value being .36,495. There were also obtained 1414 tons of zinc ore, yielding 610 tons of zinc, of a total value of .3231. Agriculture. The climate is mild and genial, and the soil in the valleys remarkably fertile, especially along the banks of the Severn. A considerable portion on the borders of Merioneth is, however, occupied chiefly by heath and moss. The number of holdings has been rather decreasing of late years, the decrease being chiefly in those below 50 acres in extent, which in 1880 (the latest year regarding which there is information) numbered 3572, while there were 1650 between 50 and 300 acres, and 45 above 300 acres, of which 2 were above 1000. According to the agricultural returns of 1882, the total area of arable land was 256,084 acres, or nearly one- half of the whole. Of this 53,538 were under corn crops, 163,441 were permanent pasture, 23,882 rotation grasses, and only 11,107 green crops ; 457 acres were under orchards, 2 under market gardens, 37 under nursery grounds, and 22,744 under woods. Of the corn crops, wheat occupied 18,665 acres, and oats 23,937 acres. Cattle, which are chiefly Herefords and cross-breeds, though there are some Devons and a lew of the old Montgomeryshire breed, numbered 62,033 in 1882, of which 21,912 were cows and heifers in milk or in calf. Horses in 1882 numbered 13,985, of which 7060 were used solely for agricultural purposes. The county was long famous for its hardy breed of small horses called merlins, which arc still to be met with. Many good hunters and cart-horses are now bred. The number of sheep in 1882 was 305,641. On some of the heath lands in the centre and west of the county a diminutive breed of sheep called duns is pastured, but those kept in the better cultivated regions are principally Shropshire Downs. According to the latest return, the land was divided among 3241 proprietors, possessing 387,342 acres, with a gross annual rental of 378,512. Of these, 1314, or 40 per cent., possessed less than one acre, 32 possessed between 1000 and 2000 acres, and 25 between 2000 and 5000 ; the following possessed upwards of 5000 acres, viz. Earl Powis, 33,545 ; Sir W. W. Wynn, 32,963 ; Lord Sudeley, 17,158 ; J. Naylor, 9275 ; and marquis of Londonderry, 7400. Manufactures. In all the towns the manufacture of woollen cloth, especially Welsh flannel, is carried on, and although the industry was lately on the decline it is now reviving. Administration and Population. Montgomeryshire comprises nine hundreds, and the municipal boroughs of Llanidloes (3421) and Welshpool (7107). Llanfyllin, Llanidloes, Machynlleth, Mont gomery, Newtown, and Welshpool form the Montgomery district of boroughs, with a total population in 1881 of 19,925, and return one member to parliament. One member is also returned for the county. Montgomeryshire is partly in the dioceses of Bangor, Hereford, and St Asaph, and contains sixty-eight civil parishes, townships, or places, as well as parts of other parishes in adjoining counties. From 65,700 in 1831 the population had increased in 1851 to 67,335, and in 1871 to 67,623, but in 1881 it had diminished to 65,718, of whom 33,004 were males and 32,714 females. History. At the time of the Roman invasion, Montgomery was possessed by a tribe of the Cymri called Ordovices. Traces of several of the old British camps still remain, the principal being those at Dolarddyn, on Breidden Hill, and at Caereinion. There are also a large number of cairns and barrows. The county was tra versed by the great Roman road, the Via Dcvana, which was joined by a number of others ; but the remains of Roman camps or stations are unimportant. After being vacated by the Romans, little is known of the history of Montgomery, until Wales was subdivided into three districts at the death of Rhodri the Great. Montgomery of 1108. Baldwyn, from which the county takes its Welsh name, was lieutenant of the marches ; and, for the purpose of holding the dis trict in check, a castle was built about the end of the llth century, which, after being captured by the natives, was retaken by Roger de Montgomery. He gave his name to the castle, and to the sur rounding district of ancient Powvs, which was made a county by Henry VIII. in 1533. MONTGOMERY, the county town, is situated on the decli vity of a well-wooded hill near the eastern bank of the Severn, 21 miles south by west of Shrewsbury, and 187f by rail north-west by north of London. It is a clean and well-built town, but somewhat scattered and irregular. The principal buildings are the parish church of Saint Nicholas (an old cruciform structure) and the town-hall. The borough has returned members to parliament since the time of Henry VIII., but by the Reform Act of 1832 it was constituted one of the Montgomery district of boroughs, which together return one member. The population of the borough (area, 3323 acres) was 1194 in 1881. There are only a few crumbling remains of the old fortress of Montgomery, originally founded in the time of William the Con queror to overawe the Welsh, and held by Roger de Montgomery, from whom the town takes its name. The castle was greatly enlarged in the time of Henry III., when it was the scene of fre quent contests between that monarch and Llewelyn the Great. In the 14th century it was held by the Mortimers, from whom it passed to the house of York. By the crown it was granted in the 15th century to the Herberts of Cherbury, but during the Civil War it was surrendered by Lord Herbert of Cherbury to the Parliamentary forces, by whom it was dismantled. MONTGOMERY, a district in the lieutenant-governor ship of the Punjab, lying between 29 58 and 31 33 N. lat., and between 72 29 and 74 10 E. long., is bounded on the N.E. by Lahore, on the S.E. by the river Sutlej, on the S.W. by Multan, and on the N.W. by Jhang. The area is 5573 square miles. Montgomery district, formerly known as Gugaira, occupies a wide extent of the Bari Doab, or wedge of land between the Sutlej and the Ravi, besides stretching across the latter river into the adjoining Rechna Doab. In the former tract a fringe of cultivated lowland skirts the bank of either river, but the whole interior upland consists of a desert plateau partially over grown with brushwood and coarse grass, and in places with impenetrable jungle. On the farther side of the Ravi, again, the country at once assumes the same desert aspect. The census of 1868 returned the population at 359,437 (males 200,016, females 159,421), viz., Hindus, 69,805; Mohammedans, 277,291 ; Sikhs, 12,286 ; and &quot;others,&quot; 55. The Jats, or pastoral tribe, form the most distinctive class in the district. They bear the name of &quot; Great Ravi,&quot; in contradistinction to the purely agri cultural classes, who are contemptuously styled &quot;Little Ravi.&quot; They possess a fine physique, with handsome features, claim a Rajput ancestry, and despise all who handle the plough. In former days they exercised practical sovereignty over the agricul tural tribes. Only two towns in the district contain over 5000 inhabitants, viz., *Pak Pattan (6086) and Kamalia (5695). The town of Montgomery, the headquarters station, had a population of only 2416 in 1868. Out of a total assessed area of 3,569,746 acres, only 538,240 an&quot; returned as under cultivation. In 1872-73 the rabi (or spring harvest) acreage was as follows: wheat (the chief crop), 162,989 acres; barley, 30,134 ; gram, 21,416; mustard, 2077 ; and tobacco, 1303 acres. In the same year the kharlf(m autumn harvest) acreage was: joar, 20, 509 acres; rice, 18,727; cotton, 16,916; til, 12,457; kangni, 9493 ; and sugar-cane, 498 acres. Irrigation is practised from rivers, canals, and wells ; the total area irrigated by public works is 66,495 acres, and by private works, 158,709. The desert uplands afford after the rains a scanty pasturage for the scattered herds of the Great Ravi Jats, and yield an impure carbonate of soda (sajji) from the alkaline plants with which they abound. The com mercial staples include wheat, rice, gram, millets, cotton, wool, ghi, hides, and sajji. Large numbers of camels are bred for exportation. The imports comprise sugar, salt, oil, English piece goods, metals, indigo, and fruits. The manufactures consist of country cloth, coarse striped silk, and lacquered wood-work. The Lahore and Multan railway intersects the district, which is also traversed in every direction by good unmetalled highways. The revenue of the district in 1871-72 amounted to 47,954, of which 42,355 was derived from the land-tax. Education in 1871-72 was afforded by 59 aided and unaided schools, with a total of 1417 pupils. The average annual rainfall for the seven years ending 1872-73 was 9 - 6 inches. From time immemorial the Itechna Doab has formed the home of a wild race of pastoral Jats, who have constantly maintained a sturdy independence against the successive rulers of northern India. The historians of Alexander s invasion mention a tribe called the Cathreans, who probably had their capital at Sangala in the Jhang district, and the Malli with their metropolis at Multdn,^ as in possession of this part of the country. The sites of Kot Kamalia and Harappa in Montgomery contain large mounds of antique bricks and other ruins, while many other remains of ancient cities