A K O A K Y 437 or 1,726,625 acres, of which 1,326,583 acres, or 2072-78 square miles were under cultivation; 127,003 acres, or 198 45 square miles, cultivable but not actually under tillage ; 41,198 acres, or 64-37 square miles, alienated land held rent free; the remaining 231,842 acres, or 362 25 square miles, consisting chiefly of unarable land, but includ ing river-beds, tanks, village sites, pasturage land, or land occupied for public uses, &c. The population of the dis trict in 1869 numbered 487,558 viz., Hindus, 433,238; Mahometans, 39,030; aborigines, 15,157; Christians, 78; Pdrsis, 45; Jews, 10. The district is square in shape and almost of a dead level, with the exception of two conical-shaped hills which stand out quite apart from any other eminences, and rise straight up from the plain. The principal river of Akold, which, although not navigable, represents the main line of drainage, and into which the other streams discharge themselves, is the Piirnd, flowing east and west. The principal tributaries on its south bank are the Kdtd Purnd, Murnd, Niim, and Bordi ; and on its north bank, the Shdhnur, Idriipd, and Wiin. None of these streams are navigable, and some of them almost dry up after the rainy season. The extension line of the Great Indian Peninsular Railway from Bhosawal to Nagpur intersects the district, with stations at Jalam Shegdon, Paras, Akola, and Borgdon. Of eight main roads, three have been metalled. The first runs from Akola to Akot, a rising cotton mart, and is 28 miles in length, running north-north- cast. It is metalled, and all the smaller water-courses are bridged. The Puma and Shahnur rivers, however, cross the line, and are not bridged, a circumstance which impairs the usefulness of the road during the rainy season. The second road is known as the Bdsim road, and runs for 24 miles southwards through the district. The third road is 12 miles long, from Khamgaon to Naudura railway station, and is metalled throughout. The other five lines of road are neither bridged nor metalled, but only marked out and levelled. The district imports piece goods from Bombay, and food grains from the adjoining districts. Its principal exports are cotton to Bombay, clarified butter, dyes (indigo and kusamba), and cattle. Internal trade is chiefly carried on at weekly markets and by annual fairs. The principal manufacture of the district is the weaving of cotton. Carpets and coarse cloths are woven in almost every village, with turbans at Baldpur, and silk cloths for native women at Akola and in the larger towns. The principal agricultural products are as follows : The wet weather or kharif crop consists of joar (eighteen varieties) ; bajra (two kinds) ; cotton (two kinds) ; tiir, urid, and mug (three kinds of ^pulse) ; rice and kulkar (a smaller variety of rice); Indian corn ; raid ; ganja ; ajwan ; indigo ; and til (oil-seeds o>f two kinds). The cold weather or rabi crop consists of wheat (three kinds) ; gram ; linseed ; lakh (a pulse) ; peas ; musuri ; tobacco ; and mustard. The principal articles of garden produce are the follow ing : Sugar-cane (two kinds) ; Indian corn (two kinds) ; ground nuts ; onions ; garlic ; coriander ; pan leaves ; chillies ; opium ; sweet potatoes ; grapes ; plantains ; saffron ; and numerous kinds of vege tables. A tenure peculiar to Akola is that known as mctkari hold ings. These consist of certain strips of land extending along the whole breadth of the district at the foot of the frontier range. They are now of considerable value, and were originally held as payment for the maintenance of a chain of outposts or watch-towers on elevated points in the ridge, with a view to giving warning of the approach of the Bhil or Gond banditti, and warding off their attacks. Seven towns are returned as containing a population exceeding 5000 viz., Akola (the capital of the district), population 12,236 ; Akot, one of the principal cotton marts of Berar, and also celebrated for its cotton manufacture, 14,006 ; Khamgaon, now the largest cotton mart in the province, but which has only sprung into importance within recent times, 9432 ; Baldpur, one of the chief military stations in the Berars during the Mahometan rule, 12,631 ; Jalgdon, an important cotton market, 8763 ; Patur, 6011 ; Shegdon, a station on the Great Indian Peninsular Railway, and a cotton market, 7450. In 1869 there were 1 higher class, 10 middle class, and 63 lower schools for boys in Akola district ; besides 7 female schools and 1 normal school for training Hindustani and Marhati masters, making a total of 82 schools in all. For the protection of person and property there were in 1869 13 police stations and 12 outposts, with a regular police force of 536 officers and men, equal to one man to every five miles of the district area, or one man to every 909 of the population. AKOLA TOWN, the headquarters of the district of the same name, and also of the west Berar division of the assigned territory, is situated on the Ndgpur extension of the Great Indian Peninsular Railway, in 20 6 N. lat., and 76 2 E. long. The town contains three or four wealthy merchants; and two markets are held each week one on Sundays, the other on Wednesdays. The commissioner s and deputy-commissioner s court-houses, the central jail (capable of holding 500 prisoners), the post- office, and barracks or rest-houses for European troops, close to the station, are the principal public buildings. Besides these, there are a civil hospital, a charitable dispen sary, an English high school, a town-hall, and an English church. A detachment of infantry is stationed at the town. Population in 1869, 12,236. AKRON, a town of the United States, capital of Sum mit county, Ohio, situated on the Atlantic and Great Western Railway, and on the Ohio and Erie Canal, at its junction with the Pennsylvania and Ohio Canal, 36 miles S. of Cleveland. By means of the canal and the Little Cuyahoga river the town is amply supplied with water- power, which is employed in a variety of manufactures ; and its mercantile business is extensive. It has several flour mills, woollen factories, and manufactories of iron goods. Mineral fire-proof paint, immense beds of which are found in the vicinity, and wheat are important articles of export. Akron was founded in 1825, and was made the capital of the county in 1841. Population in 1870, 10,006. AK-SU, a town of Chinese Turkestan, is situated in 41 7 N. lat., 79 E. long., 250 miles N.E. of Yarkand. It has a flourishing trade, and is resorted to for purposes of commerce by caravans from all parts of Central Asia. There are some cotton manufactures ; and the place is celebrated for its richly-ornamented saddlery made from deer-skin. A Chinese garrison is stationed here, and copper and iron are wrought in the neighbourhood by exiled Chinese criminals. The district is well cultivated, and sheep and cattle are extensively reared. The popula tion of the town is about 20,000 ; that of the town and district 100,000. AKYAB, a district and city within the Ardkdn division of British Burrnah, and under the jurisdiction of the chief commissioner of that province. The DISTRICT lies along the north-eastern shores of the Bay of Bengal, between 20 and 21| N. lat., and 92 12 and 94 E. long. It forms the northernmost district of British Burmah, and the largest of the three districts of the Ardkdn division. It is bounded on the N. by the Chittagong district of Bengal; on the E. by the Sumadoung ranges, which separate it from Inde pendent Burmah; on the S. by the Ardkdn districts of Rdmri and Sandoway; and on the W. by the Bay of Bengal. In 1871 the frontier or hill tracts of the district were placed under a special administration, with a view to the better government of the wild tribes which inhabit them. The present area is returned at 4858 square miles, of which 521 square miles are cultivated, 913 cultivable but not actually under tillage, and 3424 square miles uncultivable and waste. The population of the district in 1872 amounted to 263,152, of whom 192,885 were Buddhists or Jains, 47,349 Mahometans, 8687 Hindus, 13,928 abori gines, and 303 Christians. The central part of the district consists of three fertile valleys, watered by the Myu, Koladyne, and Lemyu. These rivers approach each other at their mouths, and form a vast network of tidal chan nels, creeks, and islands. Their alluvial valleys yield inexhaustible supplies of rice, which the abundant water carriage brings down to the port of Akyab at a very cheap rate. The four chief towns are Khumgchu in the extreme north-east of the district; Koladyne in the centre; Ardkdn, further down the rivers; and Akyab on the coast, where their mouths converge. This district passed into the hands of the British, together with the rest of Arakan division,
at the close of the first Burmese war of 1825.
