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POONA DISTRICT.
Area ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 5,352 sq. miles.
Population in 1891 ... ... ... ... 1,067,800.
Density of population ... ... ... ... 199 51 per sq. mile.
Rainfall ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 27 inches.
Boundaries.
Poona is bounded on the north by Ahmednagar ; on the cast, by Ahmednagar and
Sholpur ; on the south, by Mlsiras in Sholpur, and
Phaltan, Wi and Bhor in Stra ; and on the west by
Roha in Kolba, Bhor in Stra, Pen in Kolba, and Karjat and Murbd in Thna.
Climate and natural features.
Its height above the sea, its freedom from alluvial deposits, and the prevalence of westerly
breezes, make the climate of Poona dry and invigorating and
better suited to European constitutions than most Indian
climates. The air is lighter, the cold more bracing, and the heat less oppressive than in
most parts of Western or Southern India. There are three seasons : the cold season from
November to February, the hot season from March to June, and the wet season from June to
October. The coldest month of the year is January,
The soil of the District is lighter in the west than in the east. It belongs to three classes,
black, red, and coarse gray. Poona is crossed by many rivers and streams, the chief of
which is the Bhima, which for more than a hundred miles forms its eastern boundary. Dur-
ing the rainy season all of these rivers flow with a magnificent volume of water, and during
the hot season shrink to a narrow thread in broad stretches of gravel.
There is no authentic record of plague in Poona previous to 1896.*
Between December 1896 and November 1899, Poona City and District have each suffered
from four epidemics, the epidemics in each case being of crescent magnitude. The dura-
tions of these epidemics were approximately as follows :-
Epidemic.
Town.
District.
REMARKS.
1st Epidemic
January to June 1897
February to March 1897...
Town : moderate.
District : very mild.
2nd "
July 1897 to June 1898
July 1897 to March 1898
Town : severe.
District : mild.
3rd "
February 1899 to Oct. 1899...
July 1898 to March 1899
Town : every severe.
District : mild.
4th "
July 1899 to Nov. 1899 ...
District : severe.
Poona City was originally infected from Bombay, and Poona District probably received
the infection from Poona City.
Poona City.
Population-118,657.
First Epidemic (January 1897-June 1897).-Measures for the protection of Poona
(City were instituted as early as September 1896 : the first of
such measures being Railway Medical Inspection, the arrange-
ments for which were first made by the City and Suburban
Municipalities, but which were improved and extended by Government, who took it over
from the 21st March 1897. By this means many arrivals suffering from plague were
detected ; but legal power to send them to, or detain them in, hospital was wanting ; in the
Bombay Gazetteer, Vol. XVIII.