_Manufactures._--The chief feature of the modern industrial life of Bombay is the great development in the growth and manufacture of cotton. Large steam mills have rapidly sprung up in Bombay City, Ahmedabad and Khandesh. In 1905 there were 432 factories in the presidency, of which by far the greater number were engaged in the preparation and manufacture of cotton. The industry is centred in Bombay City and Island, which contains nearly two-thirds of the mills. During the decade 1891-1901 the mill industry passed through a period of depression due to widespread plague and famine, but on the whole there has been a marked expansion of the trade as well as a great improvement in the class of goods produced. In addition to the mills there are (1901) 178,000 hand-loom weavers in the province, who still have a position of their own in the manipulation of designs woven into the cloth. Silk goods are manufactured in Ahmedabad, Surat, Yeola, Nasik, Thana and Bombay, the material being often decorated with printed or woven designs; but owing to the competition of European goods most branches of the industry are declining. The custom of investing savings in gold and silver ornaments gives employment to many goldsmiths; the metal is usually supplied by the customer, and the goldsmith charges for his labour. Ahmedabad and Surat are famous for their carved wood-work. Many of the houses in Ahmedabad are covered with elaborate wood-carving, and excellent examples exist in Broach, Baroda, Surat, Nasik and Yeola. Salt is made in large quantities in the government works at Kharaghoda and Udu in Ahmedabad, whence it is exported by rail to Gujarat and central India. There is one brewery at Dapuri near Poona. _Railways and Irrigation._--The province is well supplied with railways, all of which, with one exception, concentrate at Bombay City. The exception is the North-Western line, which enters Sind from the Punjab and finds its natural terminus at Karachi. The other chief lines are the Great Indian Peninsula, Indian Midland, Bombay, Baroda & Central India, Rajputana-Malwa & Southern Mahratta systems. In 1905 the total length of railway under the Bombay government open for traffic was 7980 m. These figures do not include the railway system in Sind. With the exception of Sind, the water-supply of the Bombay Presidency does not lend itself to the construction of large irrigation works.