567
SAVAMTVADI STATE.
Area .................... . 926 sq. miles.
Populationin 1891 ............... 192,948.
Density of population... 20837 per sq. mile.
Rainfall ......... ............ 143 inches.
Boundariesi.
Svantvdi, about fifty miles long and from ten to thirty
broad, is a compact territory, unbroken by the lands of any
other States or Districts.
Bounded on the north by the Mlvan sub-division of Ratngiri,. it is separated by the
line of the Sahydri hills, on the north-east, from the lands of Kolhpur, and on the east
and south-east, from the Belguum and Bidi sub-divisions of the British district of Belgaum.
To the south lie the Dicholi and Pedna sub-divisions of the Portuguese territory of
Goa, and on the west and north-west, the Ratngiri sub-divisions of Vengurla and Mlvau.
Climate and natural features.
The cold season begins about the middle of November, the weather very suddenly
changing from damp warmth to dry cold. From February
to the middle of May strong gusty winds blow from the north-
west. The hot weather begins in March, when at times, in the afternoon, with a heavy
cloudy sky, the thermometer rises to 94. In April, the hottest month in the year, mists
and fogs are sometimes followed by thunder, lightning, and rain from the north-east.
May, though it has a higher average temperature than April, is freshened by a strong
sea-breeze. The rainy season begins early in June and ends about the middle of October.
The soil is chiefly a light sand full of stones and gravel, and unable to yield the better
class of crops. In the north is a deep red soil, the result of the decomposition of some of
the lower trap flows. None of the rivers are of any considerable size: the Svantvdi
rivers, rising from the western Shydri slopes and passing west to the sea, displaying much
sameness of character.
There is no authentic record of plague in the Svantvdi State previous to 1896.*
Svantvdi.
Population-192,948.
The Svantvdi State affords a good instance of the efficacy of surveillance and
cognate measures in excluding plague from a District or State
when thoroughly and energetically put in force. It is bound-
ed on the west and north by Ratngiri District, on the south
by Portuguese Territory, and on the east by Kolhpur and the Southern Martha Country
and Belgaum. Throughout 1897 and 1898, the two latter were almost constantly infected,
and imported cases occurred as early as December 1896, ultimately reach-ing a total of 41,
of which no less than 37 were fatal. Yet, up to October 1898, indigenous plague was
unknown in the Svantvdi State.
As early as October 1896, Mr. L. P. Walsh, C. I. E., the Political Superintendent,
had called a meeting of the principal inhabitants of the Town and District, in order to im-
press on them the necessity for making arrangements to ward off plague, should it approach;
and to deal with it, should it appear in the State. Dr. D. G. Dalgado, the Civil Surgeon,
delivered lectures on the subject by special request, and every endeavour was made to make
all classes clearly understand the position they had to face, and the need for aiding the
authorities in the execution of such measures as might be deemed necessary.
* Bombay Gazetteer, Vol. X..