DESCRIPTIO FELIS CAPENSIS.

Felis cauda fub-elongata, annulata; corpore fulvo, fupra maculis virgatis infra orbicularibus, auriculis nigris, macula lunata alba.

'Nfu. Labat Ethiopic. occident. tom. I. p. 177.

Tyge Bofch katten. Kolbe Cape of Good Hope, vol. II. p. 127. (Engl. edit.)

Cape-cat. Pennant Syn. Quadrup. p. 181. (1ft edit ) Corpus magnitudine Felis Cati fylveftris vel paulo majus. In genere fupra colore pallide fulvo, fubtus e cinereo albo, maculis atris.

(Pil apice pallide fulvi, bafi albi.) Caput Roftro magis acuto, quam F. Cati, albo; in labio fuperiore prope angulum rictus macula orbiculata, nigra. Nares nude, atræ. Myfaces plurium ordinum in labio fuperiore et fupra oculos validæ, alba et fulvæ. Cculi figura fere trian. guli fphærici, latere anteriore perpendiculari; Irides flava. Pupilla orbicularis, diurna (nec ut in F. Cato perpendiculari rima lemniscata.) Lingua retrofum aculeata. Dentes acuti ut in cogeneribus. Linea albida utrinque nafo parallela, ad interiora oculorum latera. Linea nigra paullulum convergens a cantho anteriore

oculorum defcendit in nafum; aliæ duæ nigra fupra oculos infra convergentes, inque frontem afcendentes; præterea in capite puncta et lineola nigræ plures fparfæ.

Auricula ample, longitudine fere capitis, ovatæ, fuberectæ, intus villofa, ochroleucæ; extus ni

græ, macula lunata, tranfverfa alba Margo exterior facculo membranaceo nudo lobato. Corpus ovatum, elegans. Lineæ atra longitudinales quatuor in cervice inter aurium bafes órfæ, in Dorfo interruptæ ; S perioa Iterum obtinent maculæ oblon-, gæ, lineares, obliquæ Inferior a laterum maculis rotundis fpa fis. Abdomen e cinereo album, maculis rotundis parvis, fparfis, nigris.

Pedes omnes fuperne fubfafciati, extremitatibus punctis numerofis, nigris confperfi. Digiti quinque feiini. Ungues modici, retractiles, nigri.

Cauda attingit bafin tarfi, annulis cerciter octo vel decem nigris cincta.

natural canals, over a country that approaches nearly to a perfect plane, that, after excepting the lands contiguous to Burdwan, Birboom, &c (which all together do not constitute a fixth part of Bengal) we may fairly pronounce, that every other part of the country has, even in the dry season, fome navigable ftream within 25 miles at fartheft, and more commonly within a third part of that distance.

It is fuppofed, that this inland navigation gives conftant employment to 30,000 boatmen. Nor will it be wondered at, when it is known, that all the falt, and a large proportion of the food confumed by ten millions of people, are conveyed by water within the kingdom of Bengal and its dependencies. To these must be added, the tranfport of the commercial exports and imports, probably to the amount of two millions fterling per annum; the interchange of manufactures and products throughout the whole country; the fisheries; and the article of travelling.

Thefe rivers, which a late ingenious gentleman aptly termed fifters and rivals (he might have said twin fifters, from the contiguity of their fprings), exactly refemble each other in length of course; in bulk, until they approach the fea; in the smoothness and colour of their waters; in the appearance of their borders and iflands; and, finally, in the height to which their floods rife with the periodical rains. the two, the Burrampooter is the largeft; but the difference is not obvious to the eye. They are now well known to derive their

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fources from the vast mountains of Thibet; from whence they proceed in oppofite directions; the Ganges feeking the plains of Hindooftan (or Indoftan) by the weft; and the Burrampooter by the eaft; both pursuing the early part of their course through rugged vallies and defiles, and seldom vifiting the habitations of men. The Ganges, after wandering about 750 miles through thefe mountainous regions, iffues forth a deity to the fuperftitious, yet gladdened, inhabitant of Hin dooftan. From Hurdwar (or Hurdoar) in latitude 30°, where it gufhes through an opening in the mountains, it flows with a smooth navigable stream through delightful plains during the remainder of its courfe to the fea (which is about 1350 miles) diffufing plenty immediately by means of its living productions; and fecondarily by enriching the adjacent lands, and affording an eafy means of tranfport for the productions of its borders. In a military view, it opens a communication between the different posts, and serves in the capacity of a military way through the country; renders unneceffary the forming of magazines; and infinitely furpaffes the celebrated inland navigation of North America, where the carrying places not only obftruct the progrefs of an army, but enable the adversary to determine his place and mode of attack with certainty.

In its courfe through the plains, it receives eleven rivers, fome of which are equal to the Rhine, and none smaller than the Thames, befides as many others of leffer note. It is owing to this vaft in

Aux of ftreams, that the Ganges exceeds the Nile fo greatly in point of magnitude, whilft the latter exceeds it in length of course by one-third. Indeed the Ganges is inferior in this last refpect to many of the northern rivers of Afia; though I am inclined to think that it discharges as much or more water than any of them, because thofe rivers do not lie within the limits of the periodical rains.

The bed of the Ganges is, as may be fuppofed, very unequal in point of width. From its firft arrival in the plains at Hurdwar, to the conflux of the Jumnah (the first river of note that joins it) its bed is generally from a mile to a mile and a quarter wide; and, compared with the latter part of its courfe, tolerably ftraight. From hence, downward, its courfe becomes more winding, and its bed confequently wider, till, having alternately received the waters of the Gogra, Soane, and Gunduck, befides many fmaller ftreams, its bed has attained its full width; although, during the remaining 600 miles of its courfe it receives many other principal ftreams. Within this fpace it is, in the narroweft parts of its bed, half a mile wide, and in the wideft, three miles; and that, in places where no iflands intervene. The ftream within this bed is always either increafing or decreafing, according to the season. When at its loweft (which happens in April) the principal channel varies from 400 yards to a mile and a quarter; but is commonly about three quarters

of a mile.

The Ganges is fordable in fome places above the conflux of the Jumnah, but the navigation is

never interrupted. Below that, the channel is of confiderable depth, for the additional streams bring a greater acceffion of depth than width. At 500 miles from the fea, the channel is thirty feet deep when the river is at its loweft; and it continues at least this depth to the fea, where the fudden expanfion of the ftream deprives it of the force neceffary to fweep away the bars of fand and mud thrown across it by the ftrong foutherly winds; fo that the principal branch of the Ganges cannot be entered by large veffels.

About 220 miles from the fea (but 300 reckoning the windings of the river) commences the head of the Delta of the Ganges, which is confiderably more than twice the area of that of the Nile. The two westernmost branches, named the Coffinbuzar and Jellinghy rivers, unite and form what is afterwards named the Hoogly River, which is the port of Calcutta, and the only branch of the Ganges that is commonly navigated by fhips. The Coffimbuzar River is almoft dry from October to May; and the Jellinghy River (although a ftream runs in it the whole year) is in fome years unnavigable during two or three of the dryeft months; fo that the only fubordinate branch of the Ganges, that is at all times navigable, is the Chundah River, which feparates at Moddapour, and terminates in the Hooringotta.

That part of the Delta bordering on the fea, is composed of a labyrinth of rivers and creeks, all of which are falt, except those that immediately communicate with the principal arm of the Ganges. This tract, known by

the

the name of the Woods, or Sunderbunds, is in extent equal to the principality of Wales; and is fo completely enveloped in woods, and intefted with tygers, that if any attempts have ever been made to clear it (as is reported) they have hitherto mifcaried. ts numerous canals are fo difpofed as to form a complete inland navigation throughout and acrofs the lower part of the Delta, without either the delay of going round the head of it, or the hazard of putting to fea. Here falt, in quantities equal to the whole confumption of Bengal and its dependencies, is made and tranfported with equal facility: and here alfo is found an inexhauftible store of timber for boat-building. The breadth of the lower part of this Delta is uwards of 180 miles; to which, if we add that of the two branches of the river that bound it, we fhall have about 200 miles for the diftance to which the Ganges expands its branches at its junction with the fea.

It has been obferved before, that the courfe of this river, from Hurdwar to the fea, is through an uniform plain, or, at least, what appears fuch to the eye: for the declivity is much too fmall to be perceptible. A fection of the ground, parallel to one of its branches, in length 60 miles, was taken by order of Mr. Haftings; and it was found to have about nine inches descent in each mile, reckoning in a ftraight line, and allowance being made for the curvature of the earth. But the windings of the river were fo great, as to reduce the declivity on which the water ran, to lefs than four inches per mile and by a compa

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rifon of the velocity of the stream at the place of experiment with that in other places, I have no reafon to fuppofe, that its general defcent exceeds it.

The medium rate of motion of the Ganges is lefs than three miles an hour in the dry months. In the wet feafon, and during the draining off of the waters from the inundated lands, the current runs from five to fix miles an hour; but there are inftances of its running seven, and even eight miles, in particular fituations, and under certain circumstances. I have an experiment of my own on record, in which my boat was carried 56 miles in eight hours, and that against fo ftrong a wind, that the boat had evidently no progrellive motion through the water.

When we confider, that the velocity of the stream is three miles in one season, and five or more in the other, on the fame defcent of four inches per mile; and, that the motion of the inundation is only half a mile per hour, on a much greater defcent; no further proof is required how small the proportion of velocity is, that the defcent communicates. It is then, to the impetus originating at the fpring head, or at the place where adventitious waters are poured in, and fucceffively communicated to every part of the ftream, that we are principally to attribute the velocity, which is greater or leffer, according to the quantity of water poured in.

In common, there is found on one fide of the river an almoft perpendicular bank, more or less elevated above the stream, according to the season, and with deep water near it and on the opposite fide a

bank, '

bank, fhelving away fo gradually as to occafion fhallow water at fome diftance from the margin. This is more particularly the cafe in the most winding parts of the river, because the very operation of winding produces the fteep and fhelving banks: for the current is always ftrongest on the external fide of the curve formed by the ferpentine course of the river; and its continual action on the banks either undermines them, or wafhes them down. In places where the current is remarkably rapid, or the foil uncommonly loofe, fuch tracts of land are fwept away in the course of one feafon, as would astonish those who have not been eye-witneffes to the magnitude and force of the mighty ftreams occafioned by the periodical rains of the tropical regions. This neceffarily produces a gradual change in the courfe of the river; what is loft on one fide being gained on the other, by the mere operation of the stream; for the fallen pieces of the bank diffolve quickly into muddy fand, which is hurried away by the current along the border of the channel to the point from whence the river turns off to form the next reach, where the ftream growing weak, it finds a refting place, and helps to form a fhelving bank, which commences at the point, and extends downwards, along the fide of the fucceeding reach.

To account for the flacknefs of the current at the point, it is neceffary to obferve, that the ftrongeft part of it, instead of turning fhort round the point, preferves for fome time the direction given it by the last steep bank, and is accordingly thrown obliquely

acrofs the bed of the river to the bay on the oppofite fide, and purfues its courfe along it, till the intervention of another point again obliges it to change fides.

In those few parts of the river that are straight, the banks undergo the leaft alteration, as the current runs parallel to them; but the leaft inflection of course has the effect of throwing the current against the bank; and if this happens in a part where the foil is compofed of loofe fand, it produces in time a ferpentine winding.

It is evident, that the repeated additions made to the fhelving bank before mentioned, become in time an encroachment on the channel of the river; and this is again counter-balanced by the depredations made on the oppofite fteep bank, the fragments of which either bring about a repetition of the circumftances above recited, or form a bank or fhallow in the midft of the channel. Thus a fteep and a shelving bank are alternately formed in the crooked parts of the river (the steep one being the indented fide; and the fhelving one the projecting); and thus, a continual fluctuation of courfe is induced in all the winding parts of the river; each meander having a perpetual tendency to deviate more and more from the line of the general courfe of the river, by eating deeper into the bays, and at the fame time adding to the points, till either the oppofite bays meet, or the ftream breaks through the narrow ifthmus, and reftores a temporary ftraightness to the channel.

Several of the windings of the Ganges and its branches are faft approach