ghatte, or 12 days' journey farther E. than that of the Bhagyretty. But as the country is excessively mountainous, these cannot be estimated at more than five miles each. For the first 30 miles, the course of the Bhagyretty is almost due W. to Sookee, when it turns to the S; and, after performing a direct course of 70 English miles in that direction, joins the Alucknundra at Deupraag, in 30° 9′ N. lat., and 78° 31′ E. long.-The Dauli, which was traced by Moorcroft to within 12 miles of its source, is the eastern branch of the Alucknundra, and is a much larger stream than the Vishnu, being 40, while the latter is only 20 yards broad. The source of the Dauli is immediately under the last and most elevated ridge of the Himalaya which separates Serinagur, or Gurhwal, from the Undes, in Little Tibet, not far to the N.E. of the pass of Nitee. About 10 miles below the pass, it is joined by the Hiwangal, from the W., a larger stream than itself. Immediately above this confluence is the limit of trees. After the union of the two streams at Bissenpraag, it is called the Alucknundra; and being successively augmented by the Mandacini, the Birhi, the Nandacni, the Pindar, and the Gural Ganga, it becomes a large and rapid stream at Serinagur, where it is 80 yards broad, and from 10 to 20 feet deep at low water; but when swollen, the whole channel, 250 yards wide, is filled from side to side. Twenty miles below, it joins the Baghyretty at Deupraag, the two streams being respectively 112 and 142 feet broad; and rising, when swollen by the united snows, to 40 and 47 feet each in additional depth, the channels being much confined. - Immediately below the confluence, the combined stream, now denominated the Ganges, is 80 yards wide, and very deep. The source, it has been stated, has an elevation of above 13,800 feet at Hardwar, in the province of Delhi, in 29° 57' lat., and 78° 2′ long, where the river enter the plains of Hindostan, its elevation is little more than 1000 feet, so that in the short space of about 200 miles, the Ganges descends nearly thirteen times as much as in all the remainder of its long passage to the ocean, a distance not less than 1000 miles; hence its lake-like appearance in the upper part of the valley. From Hurdwar, it pursues a S.E. course to the sea-its previous course having been W.S.W.-passing by the ancient cities of Canoge, Allahabad, Benares, and Patna, and receiving as it flows 11 large rivers, some equalling the Rhine, as the Jumna, Gogra, Gunduck, Cosa, and Teesta, and none smaller than the Thames, besides a great many of inferior note. From Hurdwar to Allahabad, where it receives the Jumna, it is generally from a mile to a mile and a quarter wide. After their junction, the breadth is progressive till it has attained a width of three miles, in places where no islands intervene. When lowest, the principal channel varies from 400 yards to a mile and a quarter broad; but is commonly three-fourths of a mile wide. Near its union with the Jumna, it is fordable in some places, but the navigation is never interrupted. At 500 miles from the sea, the channel is 30 feet deep at low water. Opposite

7 The descent from Hurdwar to the sea, 1000 miles in direct distance, is estimated at nine inches per mile, or 750 feet collectively; but the windings are so great, as to reduce it to 4 inches per mile, at an average. From where it issues from the snow at the foot of the Roodroo Himala, the descent cannot be less than 100 feet per mile to Deupraag; and allowing the windings to double the distance, 50 feet per mile. Its velocity at Serinagur is eight miles an hour; but only three miles an hour in the plains when low. When swelled, however, by the periodical rains, and the torrents of snow from the lofty Himalaya, it runs at the rate of six, and even eight miles per hour, in particular situations and under certain circumstances. At that season the violence of the current frequently undermines the banks, and sweeps away whole fields and plan

tations.

the mouth of the Cosa, at Colgong, 300 miles direct distance from the sea, the navigable stream is 70 feet deep. At 220 miles from the sea, commences the delta of the Ganges,—an alluvial tract, twice the size of that of the Nile. The smallest branch of the river, called the Hongly, runs by Chandernagore and Calcutta, into the sea; whilst the principal stream flowing S.E. to Dacca, enters the gulf of Bengal 80 miles of direct distance below. The extreme mouths of this mighty stream are intersected with woody isles called Sunderbunds, the usual haunts of that most ferocious of all ferocious animals, the Bengal tyger. The Delta, and a considerable tract of land above it, are annually inundated; and at that season present the appearance of a vast sea. The comparative course of this river, from the source of the Dauli to its junction with the Burrampooter, is about 1,170 English miles; and from thence to the sea 30 more; being in all 1,200 miles. Owing to the looseness of the soil composing its banks, the Ganges has in the lapse of years considerably shifted its course. In tracing the coast of the delta, there are no fewer than 8 openings, each of which appears in its turn to have been the principal mouth. It is thought that the Ganges is but little swelled by the melting of the snows, but considerably by the rains which fall on the mountains. The sum total of its rise is 32 feet. In the mountains the rains begin early in April; and by the latter end of July all the lower parts of Bengal contiguous to the Ganges and Brahmapootra are overflowed, the inundation spreading more than 100 miles in breadth.—The proper name of the Ganges, in the language of Hindostan, is said to be Pudda. But the river is sacred to the goddess Gunga, the daughter of mount Himavut.

Tributaries of the Ganges.] In a mere sketch of the Ganges it would be vain to attempt enumerating its tributary streams. The largest branches are on the western side, and have their source within 60 miles of the gulfs of Cutch and Cambay, so that they are really larger than the Ganges itself; but, taking the aggregate, the greatest body of water flows from the ridge of the Himalaya on the E. Of the branches that enter the Ganges on the left side the five principal are: the Gogra, the Gunduch, the Cosa, the Teesta, and the Brahmopostra.

8

The Brahmapootra.] The Brahmapootra, commonly written Burrampooter, is a mighty river, exceeding the Ganges both in size and in length of course. Of its exact source we are yet ignorant, although we possess a good deal of hypotheses upon the subject. For many years past this river, on the authority of major Reanell and captain Turner, has been supposed to be a continuation of the Sanpoo of Tibet; but recent discoveries have tended to bring this conjecture into disrepute, at least so far as refers to the eastern branch, or Luhit, the course of which has been traced until it diminishes to a shallow rocky stream, broken by rapids, among the range of mountains that bound Assam to the N.E. It has also been ascertained that Brahmacoond is not its source. Some geographers, however, expect that a connexion between the Brahmapootra and Sanpoo will still be established by means of the Dihong, or western branch; but this appears improbable, both from the inconsiderable size of the Dihong at the furthest point to which it has been explored, and the mountain

8 The most recent accounts we have received on this subject is a newspaper notice, stating that lieutenant P. P. Burlton, of the Bengal artillery in Assam, has discovered the source of the Burrampooter river to be a snowy range of mountains, in 25* N. lat., and 96° 10′ E. long,-nearly 1000 miles distant from the place where it was before supposed to have had its rise!

ous chain (apparently a prolongation of the Himalaya) which seems to extend without interruption eastward far beyond the longitude of the Dihong. Having quitted Assam, which it divides into two parts, the Brahmapootra enters Bengal, in the district of Rangamattey; and then turning to the south, runs 300 miles direct distance more, through Bengal, till it joins the Ganges, below Luckipore, within 30 miles of the sea, after a comparative course of at least 1,600 British miles. In its course through Tibet, it receives the Painomtchieu below Tishooloomboo ; and in its passage through the long valley of Assam, it receives 34 streams from the Himalaya mountains on the N., and 24 from the Garrow mountains on the S., all navigable at all seasons for boats. After entering Bengal, it is augmented by a number of tributary streams from the Bootan and Tibetian mountains. For the last 60 miles of its course, it is from four to five miles wide; and below Luckipore its channel is expanded to the breadth of ten miles. In Tibet it is called the Sanpoo; in Assam, the Burrampooter; and in the lower part of its course, the Megna, from the junction of a small Sylhet stream. The doab between this river and the Ganges is soft alluvial soil,—and in 1809 the Brahmapootra showed that with a very little more flood it would have swept 30,000 square miles of rich land into the sea.

The Gogra.] The source of this stream is not yet easily ascertained; but is probably, like that of the Ganges, concealed by the glaciers of the Himalaya. It is composed of two branches, called the Eastern and Western Gogra, which run parallel courses, till united at Swargadwara, when the confluent stream pursues a S.E. course through Kemaoon and Oude, and joins the Ganges, at Mangy, in the province of Bahar, after a comparative course of 500 British miles.

The Jumna and Sone.] Turning our attention to the branches which join the Ganges on the right, or western bank, the two most worthy of notice are the Jumna and the Sone.—The source of the Jumna, or Jumnah, was exactly ascertained by Mr Fraser in 1815, and captain Hodgson in 1817. According to them, it rises in a bed of snow, 43 miles W. of the Bhagyretty, on the S.W. side of the great Jumnoutri, and at the foot of the stupendous peak of Boonder Pooch, in 30° 58′ N. lat., and 78° 23′ E. long. This snowy bed, 180 feet wide, by 40 feet deep, conceals the source of the Jumna. The snow which forms it has fallen from mural precipices of granite which enclose the incipient stream on both sides. In geographical strictness, however, the Touse is the parent stream,-originating far to the north of the Jumna, in the depths of the Himalaya. This branch, after receiving the Pabur from the mountains of Bischur, runs S.E. till it receives the Jumna below Kalsee, after running a direct course of more than 100 British miles; whilst that of the latter does not exceed 65. Not far below this junction, the combined stream is augmented by the Girree, which has pursued a direct course of more than 80 miles from the N.W. At Fyzabad the Jumna enters the plains of Delhi, and flows S.E. till it enters the Ganges at Allahabad, after a comparative course of 800 English miles. At the point of confluence, the breadth of the Jumna is 1,400 yards, and that of the Ganges a full mile.-The Chumbul and Betwah, from the elevated level of Malwa, enter the Jumna on the S.W., after performing separate courses of 440 and 330 English miles each. Below the conflux of the Chumbul and Jumna, the latter is never fordable. The country where the Sone rises is but imperfectly known. It is supposed to be a table-land called Omerkuntuc. In the lower part

of its course this river is navigable. It deposits vast quantities of sand along its banks while in flood.

Rivers of the Deccan.] The chief rivers of the Deccan are: the Nerbuddah and the Tuptee flowing W.; and the Mahanada, the Godavery, and the Krishna, flowing E.-The Nerbuddah is one of the largest rivers which have their rise in the interior of India. It source is near that of the Sone; but it flows nearly due W. to the gulf of Cambay, which it reaches after a straight course of about 750 miles.-The Tuptee, or Tapati, or Surat river, has a winding course of about 460 miles.-The Mahanada, or Kutlak, rises in the mountains of Bundelcund, and flows by various channels into the bay of Bengal.—The Godavery has its source in the Western Ghauts. Its course may be estimated at 850 miles, extending nearly across from sea to sea. This river is held very sacred by the Hindoos of the Deccan.-The Krishna likewise rises in the western Ghauts, and flows eastward, forming a delta near Masulipatam, after a course of nearly 650 miles. In no other part of India are the rivers of so little avail for useful purposes as among the hilly districts where the Krishna and its branches are situated. They usually occupy dells that are very narrow, and the steep sides of the intervening hills pour the rains into the rivers as fast as they descend.

The Pennar and Cavery.] The Pennar rises about the middle of the table-land of Balaghaut, and flows N. for the first 100 miles of its course; it then turns E., and, about 60 miles from the sea, crosses from a ghaut in the hills into the low country, its final termination being a little below Nellore, and its whole course about 350 miles.-The Cavery descends into the plain of the Carnatic, a river of considerable magnitude. When it reaches the low country it divides into many branches, and when it arrives at the sea it forms a wider delta than any other river in the peninsula.

Lakes.] There are few lakes in India. The Chilka lake, which separates the Northern Circars from the Kuttah district towards the sea, is one of the principal. It has evidently been formed by the ocean breaking over the flat sandy shore. It is about 35 miles in length by 8 in breadth. -The lake of Pullicat, on the coast of the Carnatic, has had a similar origin. It extends 33 miles from N. to S., and is 11 miles across in the broadest part.-The Coloir lake is formed by the waters deposited by the Krishna and Godavery during the period of inundation, in a vast hollow betwixt these rivers, 47 miles from E. to W. by 14 in breadth.-In North Canara there is an extensive lake, called the lake of Onore, which reaches nearly to the Ghauts.

Cunals.] The Pennar and Tripapalore rivers, in the Carnatic, are connected near Fort St David by a canal of about 1800 yards in length. -In 1803 a canal was made from the Black town of Madras to Ennore, which is 10,500 yards in length.-The canal drawn from the Jumna to Delhi, a distance of more than 100 miles, the work of the Mahommedan sovereign, was repaired and cleansed by the Bengal government in 1810.

CHAP. III.-CLIMATE-SOIL-PRODUCTIONS.

Climate.] The climate of India is much affected by the three great modifying causes of position in latitude, the nature of the surrounding region, and the form of the surface. It has been said of India that it has

only two seasons, -the dry and the rainy, produced by the S.W. and N.W. monsoons. But the truth is, it is southern and peninsular India only that is governed by the monsoons. The commencement of the year may be considered as the time of general tranquillity of the elements in India. About the middle, or towards the end of April, the rain begins to fall along the Ghauts, but the full violence of the monsoon does not take place till towards the end of May. As we proceed northward, the monsoon is neither so early nor so violent. As far as respects the rainy season, the climate of that part of India to which the monsoons extend is, upon the whole, very regular. When the S.W. monsoon prevails, the Malabar coast is deluged with rain; when the N.E. monsoon commences, about the middle of October, the rainy season on the Coromandel coast begins. The winter-months are cold upon the high grounds in Hyderabad, and even in the neighbourhood of Mysore. At Delhi the winter's cold is sometimes 3 or 4 below freezing in December, at which time the thermometer is as low as 52° during the night at Calcutta, and not above 86° during the day. The temperature during winter is higher on the E. than on the W. coast. Taking Madras and Bombay as medium stations on the two coasts, the difference in winter-temperature may be stated at 7°,-Madras being 71o, and Bombay 64°. In April and May, before the showers, the thermometer at Calcutta rises to 110°, and a coup de soleil is almost the certain result of exposing oneself to the direct rays of the sun. Towards the northern mountains the warm season is comparatively late.

Diseases.] It will be easily apprehended, that miasma, or malaria, must be very prevalent in this country, especially in the tracts contiguous to the larger rivers. The incessant decomposition of animal matter, the insalubrious exhalations from the dense low jungles, the presence of extensive forests, and the extent of rice-grounds, are all powerful sources of malaria in this country; and it seems to be an established fact, that miasmatic influence generates ague, remittent fever, malignant continued fever, dysentery, and disorders of the liver and spleen. In the Bengal presidency, fever is most frequent in the rainy and hot seasons,-dysentery and diarrhoea during the rainy and cold seasons,—and hepatitis and cholera in the hot season. The banks of the Hoogley and the district of Jessore, Moorshadabad, Gundwana, and Cuttach, are considered very unhealthy places. The prevailing diseases in the presidency of Madras are fever, dysentery, and hepatitis, and the sickliest period is about the commencement of the monsoon, or from August to November. In Travancore, diseases of the liver appear to be particularly endemic among Europeans. The presidency of Bombay is the least salubrious. The singular affection of hemeralopia, or night-blindness, is very frequent among the natives. Pulmonary and bronchial affections are said to accompany fever in the northerly provinces. Rheumatism is the disorder of the elevated districts of the northern provinces of Hindostan. Dr Ranken considers, as the

primary cause of the endemic disorders to which Europeans are subject in India, an excess of heat amounting, on an average, to 30° above the temperature of Great Britain. At the same time, it must be confessed that Europeans are seldom sufficiently attentive to their diet and regimen in warm climates. Nothing can be more pernicious to a European constitution, under such a climate as that of India, than the practice of consuming a quantity of fish, meat, and eggs at breakfast; rich soups, roast meat, and fowl at tiffen, with the usual allowance of wine, and occasionally malt liquor.