Jain Literature.—The Jain scriptures themselves, though based on earlier traditions, are not older in their present form than the 5th century of our era. The most distinctively sacred books are called the forty-five Āgamas, consisting of eleven Angas, twelve Upangas, ten Pakiṇṇakas, six Chedas, four Mūla-sūtras and two other books. Devaddhi Gaṇin, who occupies among the Jains a position very similar to that occupied among the Buddhists by Buddhaghosa, collected the then existing traditions and teachings of the sect into these forty-five Āgamas. Like the Buddhist scriptures, the earlier Jain books are written in a dialect of their own, the so-called Jaina Prākrit; and it was not till betweenA.D.1000 and 1100 that the Jains adopted Sanskrit as their literary language. Considerable progress has been made in the publication and elucidation of these original authorities. But a great deal remains yet to be done. The oldest books now in the possession of the modern Jains purport to go back, not to the foundation of the existing order in the 6th centuryB.C., but only to the time of Bhadrabahu, three centuries later. The whole of the still older literature, on which the revision then made was based, the so-calledPūrvas, have been lost. And the existing canonical books, while preserving a great deal that was probably derived from them, contain much later material. The problem remains to sort out the older from the later, to distinguish between the earlier form of the faith and its subsequent developments, and to collect the numerous data for the general, social, industrial, religious and political history of India. Professor Weber gave a fairly full and carefully-drawn-up analysis of the whole of the more ancient books in the second part of the second volume of hisCatalogue of the Sanskrit MSS. at Berlin, published in 1888, and in vols. xvi. and xvii. of hisIndische Studien. An English translation of these last was published first in theIndian Antiquary, and then separately at Bombay, 1893. Professor Bhandarkar gave an account of the contents of many later works in hisReport on the Search for Sanskrit MSS., Bombay, 1883. Only a small beginning has been made in editing and translating these works. The bestprécisof a long book can necessarily only deal with the more important features in it. And in the choice of what should be included theprécis-writer will often omit the points some subsequent investigator may most especially want. All the older works ought therefore to be edited and translated in full and properly indexed. The Jains themselves have now printed in Bombay a complete edition of their sacred books. But the critical value of this edition, and of other editions of separate texts printed elsewhere in India, leaves much to be desired. Professor Jacobi has edited and translated theKalpa Sūtra, containing a life of the founder of the Jain order; but this can scarcely be older than the 5th century of our era. He has also edited and translated theĀyāranya Suttaof the Svetambara Jains. The text, published by the Pali Text Society, is of 140 pages octavo. The first part of it, about 50 pages, is a very old document on the Jain views as to conduct, and the remainder consists of appendices, added at different times, on the same subject. The older part may go back as early as the 3rd centuryB.C., and it sets out more especially the Jain doctrine oftapasor self-mortification, in contradistinction to the Buddhist view, which condemned asceticism. The rules of conduct in this book are for members of the order. Dr Rudolf Hoernle edited and translated an ancient work on the rules of conduct for laymen, theUvāsaga Dasāo.1Professor Leumann edited another of the older works, theAupapātika Sūtra, and a fourth, entitled theDasa-vaikālika Sātra, both of them published by the German Oriental Society. Professor Jacobi translated two more, theUttarādhyāyanaand theSūtra Kritānga.2Finally Dr Barnett has translated two others in vol. xvii. of theOriental Translation Fund(new series, London, 1907). Thus about one-fiftieth part of these interesting and valuable old records is now accessible to the European scholar. The sect of the Svetambaras has preserved the oldest literatures. Dr Hoernle has treated of the early history ofthe sect in theProceedings of the Asiatic Society of Bengalfor 1898. Several scholars—notably Bhagvanlāl Indrajī, Mr Lewis Rice and Hofrath Bühler3—have treated of the remarkable archaeological discoveries lately made. These confirm the older records in many details, and show that the Jains, in the centuries before the Christian era, were a wealthy and important body in widely separated parts of India.
Jain Literature.—The Jain scriptures themselves, though based on earlier traditions, are not older in their present form than the 5th century of our era. The most distinctively sacred books are called the forty-five Āgamas, consisting of eleven Angas, twelve Upangas, ten Pakiṇṇakas, six Chedas, four Mūla-sūtras and two other books. Devaddhi Gaṇin, who occupies among the Jains a position very similar to that occupied among the Buddhists by Buddhaghosa, collected the then existing traditions and teachings of the sect into these forty-five Āgamas. Like the Buddhist scriptures, the earlier Jain books are written in a dialect of their own, the so-called Jaina Prākrit; and it was not till betweenA.D.1000 and 1100 that the Jains adopted Sanskrit as their literary language. Considerable progress has been made in the publication and elucidation of these original authorities. But a great deal remains yet to be done. The oldest books now in the possession of the modern Jains purport to go back, not to the foundation of the existing order in the 6th centuryB.C., but only to the time of Bhadrabahu, three centuries later. The whole of the still older literature, on which the revision then made was based, the so-calledPūrvas, have been lost. And the existing canonical books, while preserving a great deal that was probably derived from them, contain much later material. The problem remains to sort out the older from the later, to distinguish between the earlier form of the faith and its subsequent developments, and to collect the numerous data for the general, social, industrial, religious and political history of India. Professor Weber gave a fairly full and carefully-drawn-up analysis of the whole of the more ancient books in the second part of the second volume of hisCatalogue of the Sanskrit MSS. at Berlin, published in 1888, and in vols. xvi. and xvii. of hisIndische Studien. An English translation of these last was published first in theIndian Antiquary, and then separately at Bombay, 1893. Professor Bhandarkar gave an account of the contents of many later works in hisReport on the Search for Sanskrit MSS., Bombay, 1883. Only a small beginning has been made in editing and translating these works. The bestprécisof a long book can necessarily only deal with the more important features in it. And in the choice of what should be included theprécis-writer will often omit the points some subsequent investigator may most especially want. All the older works ought therefore to be edited and translated in full and properly indexed. The Jains themselves have now printed in Bombay a complete edition of their sacred books. But the critical value of this edition, and of other editions of separate texts printed elsewhere in India, leaves much to be desired. Professor Jacobi has edited and translated theKalpa Sūtra, containing a life of the founder of the Jain order; but this can scarcely be older than the 5th century of our era. He has also edited and translated theĀyāranya Suttaof the Svetambara Jains. The text, published by the Pali Text Society, is of 140 pages octavo. The first part of it, about 50 pages, is a very old document on the Jain views as to conduct, and the remainder consists of appendices, added at different times, on the same subject. The older part may go back as early as the 3rd centuryB.C., and it sets out more especially the Jain doctrine oftapasor self-mortification, in contradistinction to the Buddhist view, which condemned asceticism. The rules of conduct in this book are for members of the order. Dr Rudolf Hoernle edited and translated an ancient work on the rules of conduct for laymen, theUvāsaga Dasāo.1Professor Leumann edited another of the older works, theAupapātika Sūtra, and a fourth, entitled theDasa-vaikālika Sātra, both of them published by the German Oriental Society. Professor Jacobi translated two more, theUttarādhyāyanaand theSūtra Kritānga.2Finally Dr Barnett has translated two others in vol. xvii. of theOriental Translation Fund(new series, London, 1907). Thus about one-fiftieth part of these interesting and valuable old records is now accessible to the European scholar. The sect of the Svetambaras has preserved the oldest literatures. Dr Hoernle has treated of the early history ofthe sect in theProceedings of the Asiatic Society of Bengalfor 1898. Several scholars—notably Bhagvanlāl Indrajī, Mr Lewis Rice and Hofrath Bühler3—have treated of the remarkable archaeological discoveries lately made. These confirm the older records in many details, and show that the Jains, in the centuries before the Christian era, were a wealthy and important body in widely separated parts of India.
Jainism.—The most distinguishing outward peculiarity of Mahā-vīra and of his earliest followers was their practice of going quite naked, whence the termDigambara. Against this custom, Gotama, the Buddha, especially warned his followers; and it is referred to in the well-known Greek phrase,Gymnosophist, used already by Megasthenes, which applies very aptly to the Nigaṇṭhas. Even the earliest name Nigaṇṭha, which means “free from bonds,” may not be without allusions to this curious belief in the sanctity of nakedness, though it also alluded to freedom from the bonds of sin and of transmigration. The statues of the Jinas in the Jain temples, some of which are of enormous size, are still always quite naked; but the Jains themselves have abandoned the practice, the Digambaras being sky-clad at meal-time only, and the Svetāmbaras being always completely clothed. And even among the Digambaras it is only the recluses orYatis, men devoted to a religious life, who carry out this practice. The Jain laity—theSrāvakas, or disciples—do not adopt it.
The Jain views of life were, in the most important and essential respects, the exact reverse of the Buddhist views. The two orders, Buddhist and Jain, were not only, and from the first, independent, but directly opposed the one to the other. In philosophy the Jains are the most thorough-going supporters of the old animistic position. Nearly everything, according to them, has a soul within its outward visible shape—not only men and animals, but also all plants, and even particles of earth, and of water (when it is cold), and fire and wind. The Buddhist theory, as is well known, is put together without the hypothesis of “soul” at all. The word the Jains use for soul isjīva, which means life; and there is much analogy between many of the expressions they use and the view that the ultimate cells and atoms are all, in a more or less modified sense, alive. They regard good and evil and space as ultimate substances which come into direct contact with the minute souls in everything. And their best-known position in regard to the points most discussed in philosophy isSyād-vāda, the doctrine that you may say “Yes” and at the same time “No” to everything. You can affirm the eternity of the world, for instance, from one point of view, and at the same time deny it from another; or, at different times and in different connexions, you may one day affirm it and another day deny it. This position both leads to vagueness of thought and explains why Jainism has had so little influence over other schools of philosophy in India. On the other hand, the Jains are as determined in their views of asceticism (tapas) as they were compromising in their views of philosophy. Any injury done to the “souls” being one of the worst of iniquities, the good monk should not wash his clothes (indeed, the most austere will reject clothes altogether), nor even wash his teeth, for fear of injuring living things. “Subdue the body, chastise thyself, weaken thyself, just as fire consumes dry wood.” It was by suppressing, through such self-torture, the influence on his soul of all sensations that the Jain could obtain salvation. It is related of the founder himself, the Mahā-vīra, that after twelve years’ penance he thus obtained Nirvāna (Jacobi,Jaina Sūtras, i. 201) before he entered upon his career as a teacher. And through the rest of his life, till he died at Pāvā, shortly before the Buddha, he followed the same habit of continual self-mortification. The Buddha, on the other hand, obtained Nirvāna in his 35th year, under the Bo tree, after he had abandoned penance; and through the rest of his life he spoke of penance as quite useless from his point of view.
There is no manual of Jainism as yet published, but there is a great deal of information on various points in the introductions to the works referred to above. Professor Jacobi, who is the best authority on the history of this sect, thus sums up the distinction between the Mahā-vīra and the Buddha: “Mahā-vīra was rather of the ordinary class of religious men in India. He may be allowed a talent for religious matters, but he possessed not the genius which Buddha undoubtedly had.... The Buddha’s philosophy forms a system based on a few fundamental ideas, whilst that of Mahā-vīra scarcely forms a system, but is merely a sum of opinions (pannattis) on various subjects, no fundamental ideas being there to uphold the mass of metaphysical matter. Besides this ... it is the ethical element that gives to the Buddhist writings their superiority over those of the Jains. Mahā-vīra treated ethics as corollary and subordinate to his metaphysics, with which he was chiefly concerned.”
Additional Authorities.—Bhadrabāhu’sKalpa Sūtra, the recognized and popular manual of the Svetāmbara Jains, edited with English introduction by Professor Jacobi (Leipzig, 1879); Hemacandra’s “Yoga S’āstram,” edited by Windisch, in theZeitschrift der deutschen morg. Ges.for 1874; “Zwei Jaina Stotra,” edited in theIndische Studien, vol. xv.;Ein Fragment der Bhagavatī, by Professor Weber;Mémoires de l’Académie de Berlin(1866);Nirayāvaliya Sutta, edited by Dr Warren, with Dutch introduction (Amsterdam, 1879);Over de godsdienstige en wijsgeerige Begrippen der Jainas, by Dr Warren (his doctor-dissertation, Zwolle, 1875);Beiträge zur Grammatik des Jaina-prākrit, by Dr Edward Müller (Berlin, 1876); Colebrooke’sEssays, vol. ii. Mr J. Burgess has an exhaustive account of the Jain Cave Temples (none older than the 7th century) in Fergusson and Burgess’sCave Temples in India(London, 1880).See also Hopkins’Religions of India(London, 1896), pp. 280-96, and J. G. BühlerOn the Indian Sect of the Jainas, edited by J. Burgess (London, 1904).
Additional Authorities.—Bhadrabāhu’sKalpa Sūtra, the recognized and popular manual of the Svetāmbara Jains, edited with English introduction by Professor Jacobi (Leipzig, 1879); Hemacandra’s “Yoga S’āstram,” edited by Windisch, in theZeitschrift der deutschen morg. Ges.for 1874; “Zwei Jaina Stotra,” edited in theIndische Studien, vol. xv.;Ein Fragment der Bhagavatī, by Professor Weber;Mémoires de l’Académie de Berlin(1866);Nirayāvaliya Sutta, edited by Dr Warren, with Dutch introduction (Amsterdam, 1879);Over de godsdienstige en wijsgeerige Begrippen der Jainas, by Dr Warren (his doctor-dissertation, Zwolle, 1875);Beiträge zur Grammatik des Jaina-prākrit, by Dr Edward Müller (Berlin, 1876); Colebrooke’sEssays, vol. ii. Mr J. Burgess has an exhaustive account of the Jain Cave Temples (none older than the 7th century) in Fergusson and Burgess’sCave Temples in India(London, 1880).
See also Hopkins’Religions of India(London, 1896), pp. 280-96, and J. G. BühlerOn the Indian Sect of the Jainas, edited by J. Burgess (London, 1904).
(T. W. R. D.)
1Published in theBibliotheca Indica, Calcutta, 1888.2These two, and the other two mentioned above, form vols. i. and ii. of hisJaina Sutras, published in theSacred Books of the East(1884, 1895).3TheHatthi Gumphāand three other inscriptions at Cuttack (Leyden, 1885);Sravana Belgolainscriptions (Bangalore, 1889);Vienna Oriental Journal, vols. ii.-v.;Epigraphia Indica, vols. i-vii.
1Published in theBibliotheca Indica, Calcutta, 1888.
2These two, and the other two mentioned above, form vols. i. and ii. of hisJaina Sutras, published in theSacred Books of the East(1884, 1895).
3TheHatthi Gumphāand three other inscriptions at Cuttack (Leyden, 1885);Sravana Belgolainscriptions (Bangalore, 1889);Vienna Oriental Journal, vols. ii.-v.;Epigraphia Indica, vols. i-vii.
JAIPUR,orJeypore, a city and native state of India in the Rajputana agency. The city is a prosperous place of comparatively recent date. It derives its name from the famous Maharaja Jai Singh II., who founded it in 1728. It is built of pink stucco in imitation of sandstone, and is remarkable for the width and regularity of its streets. It is the only city in India that is laid out in rectangular blocks, and it is divided by cross streets into six equal portions. The main streets are 111 ft. wide and are paved, while the city is lighted by gas. The regularity of plan, and the straight streets with the houses all built after the same pattern, deprive Jaipur of the charm of the East, while the painted mud walls of the houses give it the meretricious air of stage scenery. The huge palace of the maharaja stands in the centre of the city. Another noteworthy building is Jai Singh’s observatory. The chief industries are in metals and marble, which are fostered by a school of art, founded in 1868. There is also a wealthy and enterprising community of native bankers. The city has three colleges and several hospitals. Pop. (1901), 160,167. The ancient capital of Jaipur was Amber.
TheState of Jaipur, which takes its name from the city, has a total area of 15,579 sq. m. Pop. (1901), 2,658,666, showing a decrease of 6% in the decade. The estimated revenue is £430,000, and the tribute £27,000. The centre of the state is a sandy and barren plain 1,600 ft. above sea-level, bounded on the E. by ranges of hills running north and south. On the N. and W. it is bounded by a broken chain of hills, an offshoot of the Aravalli mountains, beyond which lies the sandy desert of Rajputana. The soil is generally sandy. The hills are more or less covered with jungle trees, of no value except for fuel. Towards the S. and E. the soil becomes more fertile. Salt is largely manufactured and exported from the Sambhar lake, which is worked by the government of India under an arrangement with the states of Jaipur and Jodhpur. It yields salt of a very high quality. The state is traversed by the Rajputana railway, with branches to Agra and Delhi.
The maharaja of Jaipur belongs to the Kachwaha clan of Rajputs, claiming descent from Rama, king of Ajodhya. The state is said to have been founded about 1128 by Dhula Rai, from Gwalior, who with his Kachwahas is said to have absorbed or driven out the petty chiefs. The Jaipur house furnished to the Moguls some of their most distinguished generals. Among them were Man Singh, who fought in Orissa and Assam; JaiSingh, commonly known by his imperial title of Mirza Raja, whose name appears in all the wars of Aurangzeb in the Deccan; and Jai Singh II., or Sawai Jai Singh, the famous mathematician and astronomer, and the founder of Jaipur city. Towards the end of the 18th century the Jats of Bharatpur and the chief of Alwar each annexed a portion of the territory of Jaipur. By the end of the century the state was in great confusion, distracted by internal broils and impoverished by the exactions of the Mahrattas. The disputes between the chiefs of Jaipur and Jodhpur had brought both states to the verge of ruin, and Amir Khan with the Pindaris was exhausting the country. By a treaty in 1818 the protection of the British was extended to Jaipur and an annual tribute fixed. In 1835 there was a serious disturbance in the city, after which the British government took measures to insist upon order and to reform the administration as well as to support its effective action; and the state has gradually become well-governed and prosperous. During the Mutiny of 1857 the maharaja assisted the British in every way that lay in his power. Maharaja Madho Singh, G.C.S.I., G.C.V.O., was born in 1861, and succeeded in 1882. He is distinguished for his enlightened administration and his patronage of art. He was one of the princes who visited England at the time of King Edward’s coronation in 1902. It was he who started and endowed with a donation of 15 lakhs, afterwards increased to 20 lakhs, of rupees (£133,000) the “Indian People’s Famine Fund.” The Jaipur imperial service transport corps saw service in the Chitral and Tirah campaigns.
JAISALMER,orJeysulmere, a town and native state of India in the Rajputana agency. The town stands on a ridge of yellowish sandstone, crowned by a fort, which contains the palace and several ornate Jain temples. Many of the houses and temples are finely sculptured. Pop. (1901), 7137. The area of the state is 16,062 sq. m. In 1901 the population was 73,370, showing a decrease of 37% in ten years, as a consequence of famine. The estimated revenue is about £6000; there is no tribute. Jaisalmer is almost entirely a sandy waste, forming a part of the great Indian desert. The general aspect of the country is that of an interminable sea of sandhills, of all shapes and sizes, some rising to a height of 150 ft. Those in the west are covered withphogbushes, those in the east with tufts of long grass. Water is scarce, and generally brackish; the average depth of the wells is said to be about 250 ft. There are no perennial streams, and only one small river, the Kakni, which, after flowing a distance of 28 m., spreads over a large surface of flat ground, and forms a lake orjhilcalled the Bhuj-Jhil. The climate is dry and healthy. Throughout Jaisalmer only rain-crops, such asbajra,joar,moth,til, &c., are grown; spring crops of wheat, barley, &c., are very rare. Owing to the scant rainfall, irrigation is almost unknown.
The main part of the population lead a wandering life, grazing their flocks and herds. Large herds of camels, horned cattle, sheep and goats are kept. The principal trade is in wool,ghi, camels, cattle and sheep. The chief imports are grain, sugar, foreign cloth, piece-goods, &c. Education is at a low ebb. Jain priests are the chief schoolmasters, and their teaching is elementary. The ruler of Jaisalmer is styledmaharawal. The state suffered from famine in 1897, 1900 and other years, to such an extent that it has had to incur a heavy debt for extraordinary expenditure. There are no railways.The majority of the inhabitants are Bhatti Rajputs, who take their name from an ancestor named Bhatti, renowned as a warrior when the tribe were located in the Punjab. Shortly after this the clan was driven southwards, and found a refuge in the Indian desert, which was thenceforth its home. Deorāj, a famous prince of the Bhatti family, is esteemed the real founder of the present Jaisalmer dynasty, and with him the title ofrāwalcommenced. In 1156 Jāisal, the sixth in succession from Deorāj, founded the fort and city of Jaisalmer, and made it his capital. In 1294 the Bhattis so enraged the emperor Alā-ud-din that his army captured and sacked the fort and city of Jaisalmer, so that for some time it was quite deserted. After this there is nothing to record till the time of Rāwal Sabal Singh, whose reign marks an epoch in Bhatti history in that he acknowledged the supremacy of the Mogul emperor Shāh Jahān. The Jaisalmer princes had now arrived at the height of their power, but from this time till the accession of Rāwal Mulrāj in 1762 the fortunes of the state rapidly declined, and most of its outlying provinces were lost. In 1818 Mulrāj entered into political relations with the British. Maharawal Salivahan, born in 1887, succeeded to the chief ship in 1891.
The main part of the population lead a wandering life, grazing their flocks and herds. Large herds of camels, horned cattle, sheep and goats are kept. The principal trade is in wool,ghi, camels, cattle and sheep. The chief imports are grain, sugar, foreign cloth, piece-goods, &c. Education is at a low ebb. Jain priests are the chief schoolmasters, and their teaching is elementary. The ruler of Jaisalmer is styledmaharawal. The state suffered from famine in 1897, 1900 and other years, to such an extent that it has had to incur a heavy debt for extraordinary expenditure. There are no railways.
The majority of the inhabitants are Bhatti Rajputs, who take their name from an ancestor named Bhatti, renowned as a warrior when the tribe were located in the Punjab. Shortly after this the clan was driven southwards, and found a refuge in the Indian desert, which was thenceforth its home. Deorāj, a famous prince of the Bhatti family, is esteemed the real founder of the present Jaisalmer dynasty, and with him the title ofrāwalcommenced. In 1156 Jāisal, the sixth in succession from Deorāj, founded the fort and city of Jaisalmer, and made it his capital. In 1294 the Bhattis so enraged the emperor Alā-ud-din that his army captured and sacked the fort and city of Jaisalmer, so that for some time it was quite deserted. After this there is nothing to record till the time of Rāwal Sabal Singh, whose reign marks an epoch in Bhatti history in that he acknowledged the supremacy of the Mogul emperor Shāh Jahān. The Jaisalmer princes had now arrived at the height of their power, but from this time till the accession of Rāwal Mulrāj in 1762 the fortunes of the state rapidly declined, and most of its outlying provinces were lost. In 1818 Mulrāj entered into political relations with the British. Maharawal Salivahan, born in 1887, succeeded to the chief ship in 1891.
JAJCE(pronouncedYaïtse), a town of Bosnia, situated on the Pliva and Vrbas rivers, and at the terminus of a branch railway from Serajevo, 62 m. S.E. Pop. (1895), about 4000. Jajce occupies a conical hill, overlooking one of the finest waterfalls in Europe, where the Pliva rushes down into the Vrbas, 100 ft. below. The 14th century citadel which crowns this hill is said to have been built for Hrvoje, duke of Spalato, on the model of the Castel del’ Uovo at Naples; but the resemblance is very slight, and although bothjajceanduovosignify “an egg,” the town probably derives its name from the shape of the hill. The ruined church of St Luke, said by legend to be the Evangelist’s burial place, has a fine Italian belfry, and dates from the 15th century. Jezero, 5 m. W. of Jajce, contains the Turkish fort of Djöl-Hissar, or “the Lake-Fort.” In this neighbourhood a line of waterfalls and meres, formed by the Pliva, stretches for several miles, enclosed by steep rocks and forest-clad mountains. The power supplied by the main fall, at Jajce, is used for industrial purposes, but the beauty of the town remains unimpaired.
From 1463 to 1528 Jajce was the principal outwork of eastern Christendom against the Turks. Venice contributed money for its defence, and Hungary provided armies; while the pope entreated all Christian monarchs to avert its fall. In 1463 Mahomet II. had seized more than 75 Bosnian fortresses, including Jajce itself; and the last independent king of Bosnia, Stephen Tomašević, had been beheaded, or, according to one tradition, flayed alive, before the walls of Jajce, on a spot still calledKraljeva Polje, the “King’s Field.” His coffin and skeleton are still displayed in St Luke’s Church. The Hungarians, under King Matthias I., came to the rescue, and reconquered the greater part of Bosnia during the same year; and, although Mahomet returned in 1464, he was again defeated at Jajce, and compelled to flee before another Hungarian advance. In 1467 Hungarian bans, or military governors, were appointed to rule in north-west Bosnia, and in 1472 Matthias appointed Nicolaus Ujlaki king of the country, with Jajce for his capital. This kingdom lasted, in fact, for 59 years; but, after the death of Ujlaki, in 1492, its rulers only bore the title ofban, and ofvojvod. In 1500 the Turks, under Bajazet II., were crushed at Jajce by the Hungarians under John Corvinus; and several other attacks were repelled between 1520 and 1526. But in 1526 the Hungarian power was destroyed at Mohács; and in 1528 Jajce was forced to surrender.
See Bräss, “Jajce, die alte Königstadt Bosniens,” inDeutsche geog. Blätter, pp. 71-85 (Bremen, 1899).
See Bräss, “Jajce, die alte Königstadt Bosniens,” inDeutsche geog. Blätter, pp. 71-85 (Bremen, 1899).
JĀJPUR,orJajpore, a town of British India, in Cuttack district, Bengal, situated on the right bank of the Baitarani river. Pop. (1901), 12,111. It was the capital of Orissa under the Kesari dynasty until the 11th century, when it was superseded by Cuttack. In Jājpur are numerous ruins of temples, sculptures, &c., and a large and beautiful sun pillar.
JAKOB, LUDWIG HEINRICH VON(1759-1827), German economist, was born at Wettin on the 26th of February 1759. In 1777 he entered the university of Halle. In 1780 he was appointed teacher at the gymnasium, and in 1791 professor of philosophy at the university. The suppression of the university of Halle having been decreed by Napoleon, Jakob betook himself to Russia, where in 1807 he was appointed professor of political economy at Kharkoff, and in 1809 a member of the government commission to inquire into the finances of the empire. In the following year he became president of the commission for the revision of criminal law, and he at the same time obtained an important office in the finance department, with the rank of counsellor of state; but in 1816 he returned to Halle to occupy the chair of political economy. He died at Lauchstädt on the 22nd of July 1827.
Shortly after his first appointment to a professorship in Halle Jakob had begun to turn his attention rather to the practical than the speculative side of philosophy, and in 1805 he published at HalleLehrbuch der Nationalökonomie, in which he was the first toadvocate in Germany the necessity of a distinct science dealing specially with the subject of national wealth. His principal other works areGrundriss der allgemeinen Logik(Halle, 1788);Grundsätze der Polizeigesetzgebung und Polizeianstalten(Leipzig, 1809);Einleitung in das Studium der Staatswissenschaften(Halle, 1819);Entwurf eines Criminalgesetzbuchs für das russische Reich(Halle, 1818) andStaatsfinanzwissenschaft(2 vols., Halle, 1821).
Shortly after his first appointment to a professorship in Halle Jakob had begun to turn his attention rather to the practical than the speculative side of philosophy, and in 1805 he published at HalleLehrbuch der Nationalökonomie, in which he was the first toadvocate in Germany the necessity of a distinct science dealing specially with the subject of national wealth. His principal other works areGrundriss der allgemeinen Logik(Halle, 1788);Grundsätze der Polizeigesetzgebung und Polizeianstalten(Leipzig, 1809);Einleitung in das Studium der Staatswissenschaften(Halle, 1819);Entwurf eines Criminalgesetzbuchs für das russische Reich(Halle, 1818) andStaatsfinanzwissenschaft(2 vols., Halle, 1821).
JAKOVA(also writtenDiakova,GyakovoandGjakovica), a town of Albania, European Turkey, in the vilayet of Kossovo; on the river Erenik, a right-hand tributary of the White Drin. Pop. (1905) about 12,000. Jakova is the chief town of the Alpine region which extends from the Montenegrin frontier to the Drin and White Drin. This region has never been thoroughly explored, or brought under effective Turkish rule, on account of the inaccessible character of its mountains and forests, and the lawlessness of its inhabitants—a group of two Roman Catholic and three Moslem tribes, known collectively as the Malsia Jakovs, whose official representative resides in Jakova.
JAKUNS,an aboriginal race of the Malay Peninsula. They have become much mixed with other tribes, and are found throughout the south of the peninsula and along the coasts. The purest types are straight-haired, exhibit marked Mongolian characteristics and are closely related to the Malays. They are probably a branch of the Pre-Malays, the “savage Malays” of A. R. Wallace. They are divided into two groups: (1) Jakuns of the jungle, (2) Jakuns of the sea or Orang Laut. The latter set of tribes now comprise the remnants of the pirates or “sea-gipsies” of the Malaccan straits. The Jakuns, who must be studied in conjunction with the other aboriginal peoples of the Malay Peninsula, the Semangs and the Sakais, are not so dwarfish as those. The head is round; the skin varies from olive-brown to dark copper; the face is flat and the lower jaw square. The nose is thick and short, with wide, open nostrils. The cheekbones are high and well marked. The hair has a blue-black tint, eyes are black and the beard is scanty. The Jakuns live a wild forest life, and in general habits much resemble the Sakai, being but little in advance of the latter in social conditions except where they come into close contact with the Malay peoples.
JALALABAD,orJellalabad, a town and province of Afghanistan. The town lies at a height of 1950 ft. in a plain on the south side of the Kabul river, 96 m. from Kabul and 76 from Peshawar. Estimated pop., 4000. Between it and Peshawar intervenes the Khyber Pass, and between it and Kabul the passes of Jagdalak, Khurd Kabul, &c. The site was chosen by the emperor Baber, and he laid out some gardens here; but the town itself was built by his grandson Akbar inA.D.1560. It resembles the city of Kabul on a smaller scale, and has one central bazaar, the streets generally being very narrow. The most notable episode in the history of the place is the famous defence by Sir Robert Sale during the first Afghan war, when he held the town from November 1841 to April 1842. On its evacuation in 1842 General Pollock destroyed the defences, but they were rebuilt in 1878. The town is now fortified, surrounded by a high wall with bastions and loopholes. The province of Jalalabad is about 80 m. in length by 35 in width, and includes the large district of Laghman north of the Kabul river, as well as that on the south called Ningrahar. The climate of Jalalabad is similar to that of Peshawar. As a strategical centre Jalalabad is one of the most important positions in Afghanistan, for it dominates the entrances to the Laghman and the Kunar valleys; commanding routes to Chitral or India north of the Khyber, as well as the Kabul-Peshawar road.
JALAP,a cathartic drug consisting of the tuberous roots ofIpomaea Purga, a convolvulaceous plant growing on the eastern declivities of the Mexican Andes at an elevation of 5000 to 8000 ft. above the level of the sea, more especially about the neighbourhood of Chiconquiaco, and near San Salvador on the eastern slope of the Cofre de Perote. Jalap has been known in Europe since the beginning of the 17th century, and derives its name from the city of Jalapa in Mexico, near which it grows, but its botanical source was not accurately determined until 1829, when Dr. J. R. Coxe of Philadelphia published a description and coloured figure taken from living plants sent him two years previously from Mexico. The jalap plant has slender herbaceous twining stems, with alternately placed heart-shaped pointed leaves and salver-shaped deep purplish-pink flowers. The underground stems are slender and creeping; their vertical roots enlarge and form turnip-shaped tubers. The roots are dug up in Mexico throughout the year, and are suspended to dry in a net over the hearth of the Indians’ huts, and hence acquire a smoky odour. The large tubers are often gashed to cause them to dry more quickly. In their form they vary from spindle-shaped to ovoid or globular, and in size from a pigeon’s egg to a man’s fist. Externally they are brown and marked with small transverse paler scars, and internally they present a dirty white resinous or starchy fracture. The ordinary drug is distinguished in commerce as Vera Cruz jalap, from the name of the port whence it is shipped.
Jalap has been cultivated for many years in India, chiefly at Ootacamund, and grows there as easily as a yam, often producing clusters of tubers weighing over 9 ℔; but these, as they differ in appearance from the commercial article, have not as yet obtained a place in the English market. They are found, however, to be rich in resin, containing 18%. In Jamaica also the plant has been grown, at first amongst the cinchona trees, but more recently in new ground, as it was found to exhaust the soil.
Besides Mexican or Vera Cruz jalap, a drug called Tampico jalap has been imported for some years in considerable quantity. It has a much more shrivelled appearance and paler colour than ordinary jalap, and lacks the small transverse scars present in the true drug. This kind of jalap, the Purga de Sierra Gorda of the Mexicans, was traced by Hanbury toIpomaea simulans.It grows in Mexico along the mountain range of the Sierra Gorda in the neighbourhood of San Luis de la Paz, from which district it is carried down to Tampico, whence it is exported. A third variety of jalap known as woody jalap, male jalap, or Orizaba root, or by the Mexicans as Purgo macho, is derived fromIpomaea orizabensis, a plant of Orizaba. The root occurs in fibrous pieces, which are usually rectangular blocks of irregular shape, 2 in. or more in diameter, and are evidently portions of a large root. It is only occasionally met with in commerce.
The dose of jalap is from five to twenty grains, the British Pharmacopeia directing that it must contain from 9 to 11% of the resin, which is given in doses of two to five grains. One preparation of this drug is in common use, thePulvis Jalapae Compositus, which consists of 5 parts of jalap, 9 of cream of tartar, and 1 of ginger. The dose is from 20 grains to a drachm. It is best given in the maximum dose which causes the minimum of irritation.The chief constituents of jalap resin are two glucosides—convolvulinandjalapin—sugar, starch and gum. Convolvulin constitutes nearly 20% of the resin. It is insoluble in ether, and is more active than jalapin. It is not used separately in medicine. Jalapin is present in about the same proportions. It dissolves readily in ether, and has a soft resinous consistence. It may be given in half-grain doses. It is the active principle of the allied drugscammony. According to Mayer, the formula of convolvulin is C34H50O16, and that of jalapin C31H50O16.Jalap is a typical hydragogue purgative, causing the excretion of more fluid than scammony, but producing less stimulation of the muscular wall of the bowel. For both reasons it is preferable to scammony. It was shown by Professor Rutherford at Edinburgh to be a powerful secretory cholagogue, an action possessed by few hydragogue purgatives. The stimulation of the liver is said to depend upon the solution of the resin by the intestinal secretion. The drug is largely employed in cases of Bright’s disease and dropsy from any cause, being especially useful when the liver shares in the general venous congestion. It is not much used in ordinary constipation.
The dose of jalap is from five to twenty grains, the British Pharmacopeia directing that it must contain from 9 to 11% of the resin, which is given in doses of two to five grains. One preparation of this drug is in common use, thePulvis Jalapae Compositus, which consists of 5 parts of jalap, 9 of cream of tartar, and 1 of ginger. The dose is from 20 grains to a drachm. It is best given in the maximum dose which causes the minimum of irritation.
The chief constituents of jalap resin are two glucosides—convolvulinandjalapin—sugar, starch and gum. Convolvulin constitutes nearly 20% of the resin. It is insoluble in ether, and is more active than jalapin. It is not used separately in medicine. Jalapin is present in about the same proportions. It dissolves readily in ether, and has a soft resinous consistence. It may be given in half-grain doses. It is the active principle of the allied drugscammony. According to Mayer, the formula of convolvulin is C34H50O16, and that of jalapin C31H50O16.
Jalap is a typical hydragogue purgative, causing the excretion of more fluid than scammony, but producing less stimulation of the muscular wall of the bowel. For both reasons it is preferable to scammony. It was shown by Professor Rutherford at Edinburgh to be a powerful secretory cholagogue, an action possessed by few hydragogue purgatives. The stimulation of the liver is said to depend upon the solution of the resin by the intestinal secretion. The drug is largely employed in cases of Bright’s disease and dropsy from any cause, being especially useful when the liver shares in the general venous congestion. It is not much used in ordinary constipation.
JALAPA,Xalapa, orHalapa, a city of the state of Vera Cruz, Mexico, 70 m. by rail N.W. of the port of Vera Cruz. Pop. (1900), 20,388. It is picturesquely situated on the slopes of the sierra which separates the central plateau from thetierra calienteof the Gulf Coast, at an elevation of 4300 ft., and with the Cofre de Perote behind it rising to a height of 13,419 ft. Its climate is cool and healthy and the town is frequented in the hot season by the wealthier residents of Vera Cruz. The city is well built, in the old Spanish style. Among its public buildings are a fine old church, a Franciscan convent founded by Cortez in 1556, and three hospitals, one of which, that of San Juan de Dios, dates from colonial times. The neighbouring valleys and slopes are fertile, and in the forests of this region is found the plant (jalap), which takes its name from the place. Jalapa was for a time the capital of the state, but its political and commercial importance has declined since the opening of the railway between Vera Cruz and the city of Mexico. It manufactures pottery and leather.
JALAUN,a town and district of British India, in the Allahabad division of the United Provinces. Pop. of town (1901), 8573. Formerly it was the residence of a Mahratta governor, but never the headquarters of the district, which are at Orai.
TheDistrict of Jalaunhas an area of 1477 sq. m. It lies entirely within the level plain of Bundelkhand, north of the hill country, and is almost surrounded by the Jumna and its tributaries the Betwa and Pahuj. The central region thus enclosed is a dead level of cultivated land, almost destitute of trees, and sparsely dotted with villages. The southern portion presents almost one unbroken sheet of cultivation. The boundary rivers form the only interesting feature in Jalaun. The river Non flows through the centre of the district, which it drains by innumerable small ravines instead of watering. Jalaun has suffered much from the noxiouskansgrass, owing to the spread of which many villages have been abandoned and their lands thrown out of cultivation. Pop. (1901), 399,726, showing an increase of 1%. The two largest towns are Kunch (15,888), and Kalpi (10,139). The district is traversed by the line of the Indian Midland railway from Jhansi to Cawnpore. A small part of it is watered by the Betwa canal. Grain, oil-seeds, cotton andghiare exported.
In early times Jalaun seems to have been the home of two Rajput clans, the Chandels in the east and the Kachwahas in the west. The town of Kalpi on the Jumna was conquered for the princes of Ghor as early as 1196. Early in the 14th century the Bundelas occupied the greater part of Jalaun, and even succeeded in holding the fortified post of Kalpi. That important possession was soon recovered by the Mussulmans, and passed under the sway of the Mogul emperors. Akbar’s governors at Kalpi maintained a nominal authority over the surrounding district; and the Bundela chiefs were in a state of chronic revolt, which culminated in the war of independence under Chhatar Sal. On the outbreak of his rebellion in 1671 he occupied a large province to the south of the Jumna. Setting out from this basis, and assisted by the Mahrattas, he reduced the whole of Bundelkhand. On his death he bequeathed one-third of his dominions to his Mahratta allies, who before long succeeded in annexing the whole of Bundelkhand. Under Mahratta rule the country was a prey to constant anarchy and intestine strife. To this period must be traced the origin of the poverty and desolation which are still conspicuous throughout the district. In 1806 Kalpi was made over to the British, and in 1840, on the death of Nana Gobind Ras, his possessions lapsed to them also. Various interchanges of territory took place, and in 1856 the present boundaries were substantially settled. Jalaun had a bad reputation during the Mutiny. When the news of the rising at Cawnpore reached Kalpi, the men of the 53rd native infantry deserted their officers, and in June the Jhansi mutineers reached the district, and began their murder of Europeans. The inhabitants everywhere revelled in the licence of plunder and murder which the Mutiny had spread through all Bundelkhand, and it was not till September 1858 that the rebels were finally defeated.
JALISCO,Xalisco, orGuadalajara, a Pacific coast state of Mexico, of very irregular shape, bounded, beginning on the N., by the territory of Tepic and the states of Durango, Zacatecas, Aguas Calientes, Guanajuato, Michoacán, and Colima. Pop. (1900), 1,153,891. Area, 31,846 sq. m. Jalisco is traversed from N.N.W. to S.S.E. by the Sierra Madre, locally known as the Sierra de Nayarit and Sierra de Jalisco, which divides the state into a low heavily forested coastal plain and a high plateau region, part of the great Anáhuac table-land, with an average elevation of about 5000 ft., broken by spurs and flanking ranges of moderate height. The sierra region is largely volcanic and earthquakes are frequent; in the S. are the active volcanoes of Colima (12,750 ft.) and the Nevado de Colima (14,363 ft.). Thetierra calientezone of the coast is tropical, humid, and unfavourable to Europeans, while the inland plateaus vary from subtropical to temperate and are generally drier and healthful. The greater part of the state is drained by the Rio Grande de Lerma (called the Santiago on its lower course) and its tributaries, chief of which is the Rio Verde. Lakes are numerous; the largest are the Chapala, about 80 m. long by 10 to 35 m. wide, which is considered one of the most beautiful inland sheets of water in Mexico, the Sayula and the Magdalena, noted for their abundance of fish. The agricultural products of Jalisco include Indian corn, wheat and beans on the uplands, and sugar-cane, cotton, rice, indigo and tobacco in the warmer districts. Rubber and palm oil are natural forest products of the coastal zone. Stock-raising is an important occupation in some of the more elevated districts. The mineral resources include silver, gold, cinnabar, copper, bismuth, and various precious stones. There are reduction works of the old-fashioned type and some manufactures, including cotton and woollen goods, pottery, refined sugar and leather. The commercial activities of the state contribute much to its prosperity. There is a large percentage of Indians and mestizos in the population. The capital is Guadalajara, and other important towns with their populations in 1900 (unless otherwise stated) are: Zapotlanejo (20,275), 21 m. E. by N. of Guadalajara; Ciudad Guzmán (17,374 in 1895), 60 m. N.E. of Colima; Lagos (14,716 in 1895), a mining town 100 m. E.N.E. of Guadalajara on the Mexican Central railway; Tamazula (8783 in 1895); Sayula (7883); Autlán (7715); Teocaltiche (8881); Ameca (7212 in 1895), in a fertile agriculturalregion on the western slopes of the sierras; Cocula (7090 in 1895); and Zacoalco (6516). Jalisco was first invaded by the Spaniards about 1526 and was soon afterwards conquered by Nuño de Guzman. It once formed part of the reyno of Nueva Galicia, which also included Aguas Calientes and Zacatecas. In 1889 its area was much reduced by a subdivision of its coastal zone, which was set apart as the territory of Tepic.
JALNA,orJaulna, a town in Hyderabad state, India, on the Godavari branch of the Nizam’s railway, and 210 m. N.E. of Bombay. Pop. (1901), 20,270. Until 1903 it was a cantonment of the Hyderabad contingent, originally established in 1827. Its gardens produce fruit, which is largely exported. On the opposite bank of the river Kundlika is the trading town of Kadirabad; pop. (1901), 11,159.
JALPAIGURI,orJulpigoree, a town and district of British India, in the Rajshahi division of Eastern Bengal and Assam. The town is on the right bank of the river Tista, with a station on the Eastern Bengal railway about 300 m. due N. of Calcutta. Pop. (1901), 9708. It is the headquarters of the commissioner of the division.
TheDistrict of Jalpaiguri(organized in 1869) occupies an irregularly shaped tract south of Darjeeling and Bhutan and north of the state of Kuch Behar. It includes the Western Dwars, annexed from Bhutan after the war of 1864-1865. Area, 2,962 sq. m. Pop. (1901), 787,380, an increase of 16% in the decade. The district is divided into a “regulation” tract, lying towards the south-west, and a strip of country, about 22 m. in width, running along the foot of the Himalayas, and known as the Western Dwars. The former is a continuous expanse of level paddy fields, only broken by groves of bamboos, palms, and fruit-trees. The frontier towards Bhutan is formed by the Sinchula mountain range, some peaks of which attain an elevation of 6000 ft. It is thickly wooded from base to summit. The principal rivers, proceeding from west to east, are the Mahananda, Karatoya, Tista, Jaldhaka, Duduya, Mujnai, Tursa, Kaljani, Raidak, and Sankos. The most important is the Tista, which forms a valuable means of water communication. Lime is quarried in the lower Bhutan hills. The Western Dwars are the principal centre of tea cultivation in Eastern Bengal. The other portion of the district produces jute. Jalpaiguri is traversed by the main line of the Eastern Bengal railway to Darjeeling. It is also served by the Bengal Dwars railway.
JAMAICA,the largest island in the British West Indies. It lies about 80 m. S. of the eastern extremity of Cuba, between 17° 43′ and 18° 32′ N. and 76° 10′ and 78° 20′ W., is 144 m. long, 50 m. in extreme breadth, and has an area of 4207 sq. m. The coast-line has the form of a turtle, the mountain ridges representing the back. A mountainous backbone runs through the island from E. to W., throwing off a number of subsidiary ridges, mostly in a north-westerly or south-easterly direction. In the east this range is more distinctly marked, forming the Blue Mountains, with cloud-capped peaks and numerous bifurcating branches. They trend W. by N., and are crossed by five passes at altitudes varying from 3000 to 4000 ft. They culminate in Blue Mountain Peak (7360 ft.), after which the heights gradually decrease until the range is merged into the hills of the western plateau. Two-thirds of the island are occupied by this limestone plateau, a region of great beauty broken by innumerable hills, valleys and sink-holes, and covered with luxuriant vegetation. The uplands usually terminate in steep slopes or bluffs, separated from the sea, in most cases, by a strip of level land. On the south coast, especially, the plains are often large, the Liguanea plain, on which Kingston stands, having an area of 200 sq. m. Upwards of a hundred rivers and streams find their way to the sea, besides the numerous tributaries which issue from every ravine in the mountains. These streams for the most part are not navigable, and in times of flood they become devastating torrents. In the parish of Portland, the Rio Grande receives all the smaller tributaries from the west. In St Thomas in the east the main range is drained by the Plantain Garden river, the tributaries of which form deep ravines and narrow gorges. The valley of the Plantain Garden expands into a picturesque and fertile plain. The Black river flows through a level country, and is navigable by small craft for about 30 m. The Salt river and the Cabaritta, also in the south, are navigable by barges. Other rivers of the south are the Rio Cobre (on which are irrigation works for the sugar and fruit plantations), the Yallahs and the Rio Minho; in the north are the Martha Brae, the White river, the Great Spanish river, and the Rio Grande. Vestiges of intermittent volcanic action occur, and there are several medicinal springs. Jamaica has 16 harbours, the chief of which are Port Morant, Kingston, Old Harbour, Montego Bay, Falmouth, St Ann’s Bay, Port Maria and Port Antonio.
Geology.—The greater part of Jamaica is covered by Tertiary deposits, but in the Blue Mountain and some of the other ranges the older rocks rise to the surface. The foundation of the island is formed by a series of stratified shales and conglomerates, with tuffs and other volcanic rocks and occasional bands of marine limestone. The limestones contain Upper Cretaceous fossils, and the whole series has been strongly folded. Upon this foundation rests unconformably a series of marls and limestones of Eocene and early Oligocene age. Some of the limestones are made of Foraminifera, together with Radiolaria, and indicate a subsidence to abyssal depths. Nevertheless, the higher peaks of the island still remained above the sea. Towards the middle of the Oligocene period, mountain folding took place on an extensive scale, and the island was raised far above its present level and was probably connected with the rest of the Greater Antilles and perhaps with the mainland also. At the same time plutonic rocks of various kinds were intruded into the deposits already formed, and in some cases produced considerable metamorphism. During the Miocene and Pliocene periods the island again sank, but never to the depths which it reached in the Eocene period. The deposits formed were shallow-water conglomerates, marls and limestones, with mollusca, brachiopoda, corals, &c. Finally, a series of successive elevations of small amount, less than 500 ft. in the aggregate, raised the island to its present level. The terraces which mark the successive stages in this elevation are well shown in Montego Bay and elsewhere. The remarkable depressions of the Cockpit country and the closed basin of the Hector river are similar in origin to swallow-holes, and were formed by the solution of a limestone layer resting upon insoluble rocks. The island produces a great variety of marbles, porphyrites, granite and ochres. Traces of gold have been found associated with some of the oxidized copper ores (blue and green carbonates) in the Clarendon mines. Copper ores are widely diffused but are very expensive to work; as are the lead and cobalt which are also found. Manganese iron ores and a form of arsenic occur.
Geology.—The greater part of Jamaica is covered by Tertiary deposits, but in the Blue Mountain and some of the other ranges the older rocks rise to the surface. The foundation of the island is formed by a series of stratified shales and conglomerates, with tuffs and other volcanic rocks and occasional bands of marine limestone. The limestones contain Upper Cretaceous fossils, and the whole series has been strongly folded. Upon this foundation rests unconformably a series of marls and limestones of Eocene and early Oligocene age. Some of the limestones are made of Foraminifera, together with Radiolaria, and indicate a subsidence to abyssal depths. Nevertheless, the higher peaks of the island still remained above the sea. Towards the middle of the Oligocene period, mountain folding took place on an extensive scale, and the island was raised far above its present level and was probably connected with the rest of the Greater Antilles and perhaps with the mainland also. At the same time plutonic rocks of various kinds were intruded into the deposits already formed, and in some cases produced considerable metamorphism. During the Miocene and Pliocene periods the island again sank, but never to the depths which it reached in the Eocene period. The deposits formed were shallow-water conglomerates, marls and limestones, with mollusca, brachiopoda, corals, &c. Finally, a series of successive elevations of small amount, less than 500 ft. in the aggregate, raised the island to its present level. The terraces which mark the successive stages in this elevation are well shown in Montego Bay and elsewhere. The remarkable depressions of the Cockpit country and the closed basin of the Hector river are similar in origin to swallow-holes, and were formed by the solution of a limestone layer resting upon insoluble rocks. The island produces a great variety of marbles, porphyrites, granite and ochres. Traces of gold have been found associated with some of the oxidized copper ores (blue and green carbonates) in the Clarendon mines. Copper ores are widely diffused but are very expensive to work; as are the lead and cobalt which are also found. Manganese iron ores and a form of arsenic occur.
Climate.—The climate is one of the island’s chief attractions. Near the coast it is warm and humid, but that of the uplands is delightfully mild and equable. At Kingston the temperature ranges from 70.7° to 87.8° F., and this is generally the average of all the low-lying coast land. At Cinchona, 4907 ft. above the sea, it varies from 57.5° to 68.5°. The vapours from the rivers and the ocean produce in the upper regions clouds saturated with moisture which induce vegetation belonging to a colder climate. During the rainy seasons there is such an accumulation of these vapours as to cause a general coolness and occasion sudden heavy showers, and sometimes destructive floods. The rainy seasons, in May and October, last for about three weeks, although, as a rule no month is quite without rain. The fall varies greatly; while the annual average for the island is 66.3 in., at Kingston it is 32.6 in., at Cinchona 105.5 in., and at some places in the north-east it exceeds 200 in. The climate of the Santa Cruz Mountains is extremely favourable to sufferers from tubercular and rheumatic diseases. Excepting near morasses and lagoons, the island is very healthy, and yellow fever, once prevalent, now rarely occurs. In the early part of the 19th century, hurricanes often devastated Jamaica, but now, though they pass to the N.E. and S.W. with comparative frequency, they rarely strike the island itself.