The practice of surveying also become common undar the colonial administration. The British believed that a country had to be properly known before it could be effectively administered. By the early nineteenth century detailed surveys were being carried out to map the entire country in the villages revenue surveys were conducted the efforts was to know the topography the soil quality the flora the gsune the local histories and the cropping pattern all the facts seen as necessary to know about to administer the region from the end of the nineteenth century census operations were held every ten years these prepared detailed records of the number of people in all the provinces of india noting information on castes religions and occupation there were many other surveys botanical surveys zoological survey archaeological survey anthropologically surveys forest surveys.