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language and the Vedic religion; the Persian invasion under Darius (518 B. C.); and the Grecian under Alexander the Great (327 B. C.). In 1001 A. D. the Mohammedans overran almost the whole country. The Mongol invasions under Genghis Khan and [[../Timur|Tamerlane]] ended in the Mogul empire (1525), Akbar the Great being perhaps the greatest sovereign India has ever known. The empire divided after his death in 1707. The European nations appeared first in India as travelers, traders and missionaries, the Portuguese, the Dutch and the French having settlements early in the 18th century. The British East India Company settled in India in 1653, with three trading-settlements at Calcutta, Madras and Bombay. Its power dates from the battle of Plassy in 1757, won by [[../Clive, Robert, Lord|Clive]] over the Mogul, which gave England the dominion of Bengal. The company was chartered by England, and had to be sustained by English troops, and with every renewal of the charter the government assumed more control. The annexation of territory continued without check, except in 1838, when the effort to establish a British protectorate in Afghanistan was a failure, and in 1857 occurred the Indian mutiny, with its massacres of English residents at Cawnpore and other places. In 1858 the government passed into the hands of Great Britain, and the British East India Company ceased to exist. The wars of 1878 and 1884 with Afghanistan and Burma have increased and strengthened British territory. See Modern India by Monier Williams; India in 1880 by Temple; Asiatic Studies by Lyall; and History of India by Grant, by Duff, by Mallison and by Kaye.
India-Rub′ber or Gum Elas′tic is a substance found in the milky juice of certain plants in tropical and subtropical countries. The principal tree from which it is obtained is tall and graceful. Its appearance is well-known, and the glossy leaves have been seen on small trees grown in pots as ornamental plants. Some of the properties of india-rubber must have been known in America at a very early period, for it is related by travelers as early as [[../Columbus, Christopher|Columbus]]’ second voyage that the Haitians made balls of the “gum of a tree,” which bounced better than the wind-balls of Spain. India-rubber was first imported for rubbing out from paper marks made with black lead (1770), whence its name. In 1820 it began to be used in the many useful ways in which we find it to-day. It is gathered by making cuts in the trunks of the trees. In a few hours the juice fills the clay basins placed to receive it. A good tree will yield four ounces of juice daily and twenty gallons in a season. A gallon will produce two pounds of good rubber. It is made solid by drying in the sun or in other ways. To purify the raw material, it is boiled and pressed through powerful machines, rolled out into thin plates and then dried the second time. One pound of rubber will make 32,000 yards of thread. Pure rubber is very little used now, but in its vulcanized state the uses to which it is put are innumerable. The process of vulcanizing rubber, which has made it available for many purposes, was discovered by Goodyear (q. v.), and consists in heating the pure rubber with sulphur, which hardens it. It is used in making shoes, cloth, belting, tires, hose, washers, tobacco-pouches, combs, chains, bracelets, paper-knives, furniture, rails and paving. There have been many efforts to obtain a substitute for India-rubber, as the raw material is expensive, but so far without success.
In′dian′a, one of the central states of the Union, is the smallest of the western states, being 275 miles long, with a breadth of 140, covering an area of 36,350 square miles. Its population is 2,700,876. The state is bounded by Michigan and [[../Michigan, Lake|Lake Michigan]] on the north; by Ohio on the east; by Illinois on the west; and by Kentucky, separated by the [[../Ohio (river)|Ohio River]], on the south. The state is divided into 92 counties, with the capital, Indianapolis (pop. 233,650), near its center. The other chief cities are Evansville, Fort Wayne, [[../South Bend, Ind.|South Bend]] and [[../Terre Haute, Ind.|Terre Haute.]]
Surface and Drainage. The surface is level, generally speaking, with sluggish streams. The northern part originally was swampy, but since its drainage the soil is wonderfully fertile and the climate healthful. The central portion is somewhat rolling, and the southern part slightly hilly. Its southern portion is drained by the Ohio and its tributaries. The Wabash River, which forms its western boundary for 100 miles, crosses the state. It is 600 miles long and navigable for 300 miles. These are the main streams, but in the northwest is the Kankakee, draining into the [[../Illinois River|Illinois]], and in the northeast are the St. Joseph and [[../St. Mary’s Strait|St. Mary’s]] Rivers, which unite at Fort Wayne and become the Maumee.
Natural Resources. Coal, iron ore, sandstone, gypsum and natural gas are among its mineral riches. The coal product in 1910 was 18,389,879 tons; that of petroleum was about 1,568,475 barrels. There was a decrease in the volume of natural gas and petroleum. Indiana was originally covered with heavy forests, and its lumber-product still reaches $16,000,000 yearly.
Agriculture. Farming is an important industry. The Wabash valley is one of the most fertile regions in the world, and the yield of wheat and corn is enormous. The staple productions are, wheat, corn, barley, rye, potatoes and tobacco. Many horses, sheep, cattle and hogs are raised.
Manufactures. Indiana has become an important manufacturing state. In the
