346 NOAKHALI. on Sandwip Island and the ruins of the Company's factories, already referred to. BHULUA was one of the military outposts of the Mughal Empire, and was in 1610 the scene of a battle between the Mughals and the combined forces of the Portuguese and Arakanese. Of the 2471 villages comprising the District, 1431 contained in 1881 less than two hundred inhabitants ; 627 between two and five hundred; 261 between five hundred and a thousand ; 98 between one and two thousand; 34 between two and three thousand; in between three and five thousand; and 9 between five and ten thousand inhabitants. These last, however, are only aggregates of small villages. As above stated, Sudhárám is the only place in Noakhali with a population exceeding five thousand. Material Condition of the People.—As in the other Districts of Eastern and South-Eastern Bengal, the people as a rule are extremely well off. They dress and live well, and their cattle also are in good condition. Each man has, the Collector states, his grove of areca palms around his house, which yields him a good profit, without any labour; and every one, even the poorest, possesses a small plot of land. The signs of great material prosperity are unmistakable, and strike every newcomer to the District. The rates of rent are low; and the soil, especially on the alluvial accretions in the rivers, very productive, yielding rich crops in return for a minimum of labour. The condition of the people has distinctly improved within the last few years. On this subject, a late Collector of the District writes : This improvement is seen both in their dress and in their dwellings. A peasant's dress formerly consisted of a piece of cloth round the loins, worth not more than six or eight ánnás (gd. or is.). He now spends four or five rupees (8s. or ros.) on clothes every half-year, and wears a dhutí, chádar, and a cap. The introduction of English piece-goods has made these articles cheaper, and he is better able to pay for them. Houses, which used to be built of straw, bamboos, and reeds, on low marshy land, are now constructed on well-raised lands, and of better and more durable materials. Each homestead is surrounded by a grove, which gives it a pleasing appearance, but interferes with ventilation. The number of utensils in domestic use is much larger than formerly, and there is much more comfort. The cost of living has increasedsay, for a cultivator, from six pies (three-farthings) to an ánni (threehalfpence) per day.' Occupations. -As regards occupation, the Census Report of 1881 divides the male population into the following six main divisions :--- (1) Professional class, including all persons engaged in Government service, 11,120; (2) domestic servants, inn and lodging-house keepers, etc., 8762 ; (3) commercial class, including merchants, traders, carriers, etc., 11,419; (4) agricultural and pastoral class, including gardeners,
