JUTTRI. 45 Noh Jhil is a swampy lake, about 2 miles east of the Jumna, in the northern portion of the Doáb tract. It has an average length of 2) miles, with a breadth of 1], but swells in the rainy season over a much larger area. There is scarcely any forest timber in the District, and nearly all the wood may be classed as fuel. The area under groves is quite insignificant, occupying only 5 per cent. of the District area. Thatching grass is plentiful. The seeds, fruit, and bark of many trees are used for medicinal purposes, for dyeing, or as food. Sandstone, fit for building purposes, is procurable at two places on the western border of the District, at Barsana and Nandgaon, where low rocky hills crop out above the surface of the ground. This stone, however, is not much used, except by the canal officers for bridges and other works on the Agra canal. Kankar or nodular limestone is abundant throughout Muttra, but that obtained from the country east of the Jumna is larger, harder, of better colour, and in thicker strata than that found in the western division. The wild animals most commonly found are leopards, wolves, hyænas, wild hog, and nilgii, principally in the western hilly tracts along the Bhartpur border. History. The central portion of Vuttra District forms one of the most sacred spots in Hindu mythology. The circuit of 84 kos around Gokul and Brindában bears the name of the Braj-Mandal, and carries with it many associations of the earliest Aryan tiines. Here Krishna and Balaráma, the divine herdsmen, fed their cattle in the forest pastures; and numerous relics of antiquity in the towns of MUTTRA, GOBARDHAN, GOKUL, MAHABAN, and BRINDABAX still attest the sanctity with which this holy tract was invested. In addition to the short article on Gokul, which had to be written before the author visited the place, a short account of that famous river-side village will be found at the end of the longer article MAHABAN. During the Buddhist period, Juttra became a centre of the new faith, and is mentioned by the early Chinese pilgrims in their itineraries. After the invasion of Mahmúd of Ghazni in 1017, the city fell into insignificance till the reign of Akbar. Thenceforward its history merges in that of the Játs of BHARTPUR, and only acquires a separate individuality with the rise of Suráj Mall. In 1712, Badan Singh, father of that famous adventurer, proclaimed himself leader of the Játs, and took up his residence at Sahár, where he built a handsome palace. In his old age he distributed his possessions among his sons, giving the south-western portion of Bhartpur to his youngest, Partáb Singh, and the remainder of his dominions, including Muttra, to his eldest, Suraj Mall. On Badan Singh's death, Suraj Mall moved to Bhartpur, and assumed the title of Rájá.
