JUMNA

jumna, or jamuna, a river of northern india. rising in the himalayas in tehri state, about 5 m. n. of the jamnotri hot springs, in 31° 3 n. and 78° 30 e., the stream first flows s. for 7 m., then s.w. for 32 m., and afterwards due s. for 26 m., receiving several small tributaries in its course. it afterwards turns sharply to the w. for 14 m., when it is joined by the large river tons from the north. the jumna here emerges from the himalayas into the valley of the dun, and flows in a s.w. direction for 22 m., dividing the kiarda dun on the w. from the dehra dun on the e. it then, at the 95th mile of its course, forces its way through the siwalik hills, and debouches upon the plains of india at fyzabad in saharanpur district. by this time a large river, it gives off, near fyzabad, the eastern and western jumna canals. from fyzabad the river flows for 65 m. in a s.s.w. direction, receiving the maskarra stream from the east. near bidhauli, in muzaffarnagar district, it turns due s. for 80 m. to delhi city, thence s.e. for 27 m. to near dankaur, receiving the waters of the hindan river on the east. from dankaur it resumes its southerly course for 100 m. to mahaban near muttra, where it turns e. for nearly 200 m., passing the towns of agra, ferozabad and etawah, receiving on its left bank the karwan-nadi, and on its right the banganga (utanghan). from etawah it flows 140 m. s.e. to hamirpur, being joined by the sengar on its north bank, and on the south by the great river chambal from the west, and by the sind. from hamirpur, the jumna flows nearly due e., until it enters allahabad district and passes allahabad city, below which it falls into the ganges in 25° 25 n. and 81° 55 e. in this last part of its course it receives the waters of the betwa and the ken. where the jumna and the ganges unite is the _prayag_, or place of pilgrimage, where devout hindus resort in thousands to wash and be sanctified. the jumna, after issuing from the hills, has a longer course through the united provinces than the ganges, but is not so large nor so important a river; and above agra in the hot season it dwindles to a small stream. this is no doubt partly caused by the eastern and western jumna canals, of which the former, constructed in 1823-1830, irrigates 300,000 acres in the districts of saharanpur, muzaffarnagar and meerut, in the united provinces; while the latter, consisting of the reopened channels of two canals dating from about 1350 and 1628 respectively, extends through the districts of umballa, karnal, hissar, rohtak and delhi, and the native states of patiala and jind in the punjab, irrigating 600,000 acres. the headworks of the two canals are situated near the point where the river issues from the siwaliks. the traffic on the jumna is not very considerable; in its upper portion timber, and in the lower stone, grain and cotton are the chief articles of commerce, carried in the clumsy barges which navigate its stream. its waters are clear and blue, while those of the ganges are yellow and muddy; the difference between the streams can be discerned for some distance below the point at which they unite. its banks are high and rugged, often attaining the proportions of cliffs, and the ravines which run into it are deeper and larger than those of the ganges. it traverses the extreme edge of the alluvial plain of hindustan, and in the latter part of its course it almost touches the bundelkhand offshoots of the vindhya range of mountains. its passage is therefore more tortuous, and the scenery along its banks more varied and pleasing, than is the case with the ganges. the jumna at its source near jamnotri is 10,849 ft. above the sea-level; at kotnur, 16 m. lower, it is only 5036 ft.; so that, between these two places, it falls at the rate of 314 ft. in a mile. at its junction with the tons it is 1686 ft. above the sea; at its junction with the asan, 1470 ft.; and at the point where it issues from the siwalik hills into the plains, 1276 ft. the catchment area of the river is 118,000 sq. m.; its flood discharge at allahabad is estimated at 1,333,000 cub. ft. per second. the jumna is crossed by railway bridges at delhi, muttra, agra and allahabad, while bridges of boats are stationed at many places. jumping,[1] a branch of athletics which has been cultivated from the earliest times (see athletic sports). leaping competitions formed a part of the _pentathlon_, or quintuple games, of the olympian festivals, and greek chronicles record that the athlete phayllus jumped a distance of 55 olympian, or more than 30 english, feet. such a leap could not have been made without weights carried in the hands and thrown backwards at the moment of springing. these were in fact employed by greek jumpers and were called _halteres_. they were masses of stone or metal, nearly semicircular, according to pausanias, and the fingers grasped them like the handles of a shield. halteres were also used for general exercise, like modern dumb-bells. the olympian jumping took place to the music of lutes. jumping has always been popular with british athletes, and tradition has handed down the record of certain leaps that border on the incredible. two forms of jumping are included in modern athletic contests, the running long jump and the running high jump; but the same jumps, made from a standing position, are also common forms of competition, as well as the hop step and jump, two hops and jump, two jumps, three jumps, five jumps and ten jumps, either with a run or from a standing position. these events are again divided into two categories by the use of weights, which are not allowed in championship contests. in the running long jump anything over 18 ft. was once considered good, while peter o'connor's world's record (1901) is 24 ft. 113⁄4 in. the jump is made, after a short fast run on a cinder path, from a joist sunk into the ground flush with the path, the jumper landing in a pit filled with loose earth, its level a few inches below that of the path. the joist, called the "take-off," is painted white, and all jumps are measured from its edge to the nearest mark made by any part of the jumper's person in landing. in the standing long jump, well spiked shoes should be worn, for it is in reality nothing but a push against the ground, and a perfect purchase is of the greatest importance. weights held in the hands of course greatly aid the jumper. without weights j. darby (professional) jumped 12 ft. 11⁄2 in. and r. c. ewry (american amateur) 11 ft. 4(7/8) in. with weights j. darby covered 14 ft. 9 in. at liverpool in 1890, while the amateur record is 12 ft. 91⁄2 in., made by j. chandler and g. l. hellwig (u.s.a.). the standing two, three, five and ten jumps are merely repetitions of the single jump, care being taken to land with the proper balance to begin the next leap. the record for two jumps without weights is 22 ft. 21⁄2 in., made by h. m. johnson (u.s.a.); for three jumps without weights, r. c. ewry, 35 ft. 71⁄4 in.; with weights j. darby, 41 ft. 7 in. the hop step and jump is popular in ireland and often included in the programmes of minor meetings, and so is the two hops and a jump. the record for the first, made by w. mcmanus, is 49 ft. 21⁄2 in. with a run and without weights; for the latter, also with a run and without weights, 49 ft. 1⁄2 in., made by j. b. conolly. in the running high jump also the standard has improved. in 1864 a jump of 5 ft. 6 in. was considered excellent. the scotch professional donald dinnie, on hearing that m. j. brooks of oxford had jumped 6 ft. 21⁄2 in. in 1876, wrote to the newspapers to show that upon _a priori_ grounds such an achievement was impossible. since then many jumpers who can clear over 6 ft. have appeared. in 1895 m. f. sweeney of new york accomplished a jump of 6 ft. 5(5/8) in. ireland has produced many first-class high jumpers, nearly all tall men, p. leahy winning the british amateur record in dublin in 1898 with a jump of 6 ft. 43⁄4 in. the american a. bird page, however, although only 5 ft. 63⁄4 in. in height, jumped 6 ft. 4 in. high jumping is done over a light staff or lath resting upon pins fixed in two uprights upon which a scale is marked. the "take-off," or ground immediately in front of the uprights from which the spring is made, is usually grass in great britain and cinders in america. some jumpers run straight at the bar and clear it with body facing forward, the knees being drawn up almost to the chin as the body clears the bar; others run and spring sideways, the feet being thrown upwards and over the bar first, to act as a kind of lever in getting the body over. there should be a shallow pit of loose earth or a mattress to break the fall. the standing high jump is rarely seen in regular athletic meetings. the jumper stands sideways to the bar with his arms extended upwards. he then swings his arms down slowly, bending his knees at the same time, and, giving his arms a violent upward swing, springs from the ground. as the body rises the arms are brought down, one leg is thrown over the bar, and the other pulled, almost jerked, after it. the record for the standing high jump without weights is 6 ft., by j. darby in 1892. by the use of a spring-board many extraordinary jumps have been made, but this kind of leaping is done only by circus gymnasts and is not recognized by athletic authorities. for pole-jumping see pole-vaulting. see _encyclopaedia of sport_; m. w. ford, "running high jump," _outing_, vol. xviii.; "running broad jump," _outing_, vol. xix.; "standing jumping," _outing_, vol. xix.; "miscellaneous jumping," _outing_, vol. xx. also _sporting and athletic register_ (annual). footnote: [1] the verb "to jump" only dates from the beginning of the 16th century. the _new english dictionary_ takes it to be of onomatopoeic origin and does not consider a connexion with dan. _gumpe_, icel. _goppa_, &c., possible. the earlier english word is "leap" (o.e. _hleapan_, to run, jump, cf. ger. _laufen_).