REPORT ON MALARIA IN THE PUNJAB DURING
THE YEAR 1916.
I.—Introduction.
Situation.—The Province of the Punjab occupies the extreme north-
west angle of Northern India. Its northern portion is entirely hilly ; while
the remaining part is a great plain extending from the foot of the Himalayas
to the desert of Rajputana. It lies between 27°-39' and 34°-2'N, and 69°-23' and
79°-2'E, and its total area including Native States, is 136,330 square miles.
Natural Division.—The main Natural Divisions of the Province are :—
Simla, Kangra and some Native States
(Mandi, Suket, Chamba, Naban, and Simla
Hill States).
I.—The Himalayan "Division constitutes that part which lies
inside the Himalayan Range and Sawaliks to the
extreme north-east. The average rainfall in this
Division is over 61" per annum against 31", the
average for the whole Province. A part is
covered with snow during winter, and hence at this season thé climate becomes
temperate in character. Hill torrents fed by melting snow and spring
rains irrigate the valleys and slopes of the hills.
Ambala,
Hoshiarpur,
Gurdaspur,
Attock, Rawalpindi, Jhelum, Sialkot,
Gujrat, and Kalsia State.
II.—The Sub-Himaliyan Division includes the tracts lying at the
foot of the Himalayas along the north and east of
the Province. The average rainfall is over 33".
In this Division the cold weather is marked by
great variations due mainly to piercingly cold
winds blowing from the Himalayas. The surface is irrigated by hill torrents,
rivers and perennial canals.
Montgomery, Multan, Muzaffargarh,
Mianwali, Pera Ghazi Khan, Jhang,
Shahpur, Lyallpur and Bahawalpur State.
III. — The North-West Dry Area comprising the districts to the west
of the Province. There are a few low hills
ascending here and there as high as 5,000 feet,
which are dry, barren, and almost waterless.
The average rainfall of this tract is under 13", and the temperature in
the hot weather is excessively high. Irrigation, except for copious irrigation
from perennial canals in the districts of Lyallpur, Shahpur, Jhang, and Mont-
gomery, depends on the rainfall.
Hissar, Gnrgaon, Rohtak, Karnal,
Jallandar, Ludhiana, Ferozepore, Lahore,
Gujranwala Amritsar, and Loharu, Dujana,
Pataudi, Jind, Kapurthala, Patiala, Nabha,
Maler Kotla, and Faridkot States.
IV.—The Indo-Gangetic Plain, West including on the one hand tracts
like Hissar, Gurgaon, and Rohtak, depending for-
mater mainly on the rainfall ; and on the other
such highly cultivated and well irrigated tracts
as Jallandar, Amritsar, Lahore, and Gujran-
wala. The climate is hot find the humidity high
during the rainy season. The average rainfall is about 27".
Soil.—The soil of the Province for the most part consists of fine silt and
clay deposited by the rivers. This soil which is relatively impervious is favour-
able to waterlogging becoming more marked when there is a tendency to the
formation of a layer of concrete or kunkuar a few feet below the surface level.
Flooding : conditions favourable for it
in the Punjab.
This relative impermeability of the soil, and the want of good natural
drainage (except tor the mountainous parts)
make the country liable to be submerged
temporarily, after a heavy rainfall, resulting in
large collections of water which take a long time to disappear.
Temperature in summer and winter.
Lying as it does between 27°-39' and 34°-2'N and 69°-23' and 79°-2'
East, the Province is situated m the sub-tropical
region, and the temperature during the greater
part of the winter ranges between 40° and 70° F. This temperature is inimical
to lower insect life. During the hot weather the shade temperature ranges