cubits, leaving three cubits above ground, excavated at the top about a foot deep, and perforated, near the bottom, to let out the liquor. Into this excavation falls another trunk of a tree like a pestle, which passes through a hollow piece of wood resembling a hopper, in which is placed the cane, cut into small lengths. From this pestle is suspended a lever, to which five or six bullocks are fastened to draw it round, and thus bruise the sugarcane. A board is hung to the lever, and stones put on it, to preserve the balance. Sometimes a man sits on this board for this purpose, and goes round with the machine. To prevent the lever from sinking down, it is tied to the top of the trunk which is fastened in the ground. This mill is called Mühashală. The oil mill is upon the same construction, but smaller, and requires only one bullock. The Hindoos have another mill, called Churkee, which is in the form of two screws, rolling one upon another. At each end two persons sit to turn the screws round; and in the middle, on each side, two other persons sit, and receive and give back the lengths of the cane till the juice is sufficiently squeezed out. A pan is put beneath to receive the juice, which is afterwards boiled once into molasses, from which the Hindoos make sugar, sugar-candy, and many sorts of sweetmeats.

No argument, says Mr. Colebrooke, occurs against the probability of annotto, madder, coffee, cocoa, cochineal, and even tea, thriving in British India. India does furnish aloes, asafoetida, benzoin, camphire, cardamums, cassia lignea and cassia buds, arrangoes, cowries, China root,* cinnabar, cloves, cinnamon, nutmegs, mace, elephants' teeth, gums of various kinds, mother of pearl, pepper, (quicksilver, and rhubarb, from China,) sago, scammony, senna, and saffron; and might furnish anise, coriander, and cumin seeds, and many other objects, which it would be tedious to enumerate.

The soil of the lower parts of Bengal, as far as the tide reaches, is a porous clay, on a subtratum of very black clay, which lies at a greater or less depth, according to circumstances. That of the middle parts of Bengal is a rich deep loam, and that of the upper parts north of the Ganges, is diversified with loam and clay; most of

* China root grows naturally on the mountains near Sylhet; has been introduced into the Mission Garden, Serampore, and might be cultivated to any extent.

the lower lands, on the margins of the rivers, being loamy, and the higher land's clay. In some instances, however, this order is inverted, the lower parts being clay, and the high lands loam. The Hindoos seldom manure their land.*

The author collected observations on the state of the weather in Bengal, during the year 1804, which were presented to the reader at large in the former edition: the result of the whole will be found in the following summary, which he knows not where to introduce with more propriety than in this place :

From that statement it appeared, that in what the natives call the cold, or harvest, season, viz. from about the middle of November to the middle of January, the thermometer stood, in November, at from 75 to 80; in December, from 66 to 70.

In the dewy season, viz. from the middle of January to the same period in March, the thermometer was from 71 to SS. In the former part of January it was very cold, but afterwards, (in consequence of the haziness of the atmosphere), it became warmer, and the thermometer ascended up to 90. Still, however, down to the end of February, the air was cool and pleasant, though woollen clothes became rather burdensome to persons who do not spend their days under the punkha.†

In what the natives call the vŭsuntů, or budding time, viz. from the middle of March to the same period in May, the thermometer was from 85 to 95. The hot winds be

*The general soil of Bengal is clay, with a considerable proportion of silicious sand, fertilized by various salts, and by decayed substances, animal and vegetable. In the flat country, sand is every where the basis of this stratum of productive earth: it indicates an accession of soil on land which has been gained by the dereliction of water. The progress of this operation of nature presents itself to the view in the deviations of the great rivers of Bengal, where changes are often sudden, and their dates remembered.-Mr. Colebrooke.

+ The punkha is a frame of wood about twelve feet long, three or four feet wide, and two inches thick, covered with canvas, and suspended by ropes from the top of the room. It is generally hung over the dining ta ble, and is drawn and let go again, so as to agitate the air, by a servant standing at one side of the room. In the hot weather, some Europeans sit under the punkha from morning till night, and place their couchs under it, when they take a nap; several are kept going in the churches at Calcutta during divine service. A leaf of the Corypha umbraculifera, with the pedtiole cut to the length of about five feet, and pared round the edges, forms a very excellent fan, which, when painted, looks beautiful, and which is waved by a servant standing behind the chair.

gan in March, and became hotter in April.* Towards the latter end of March, the violent winds, called the north-westers, commence; and during this season the atmosphere is very often lowering, but the rain is seldom heavy, except during the storm.

In the hot season, viz. from the middle of May to that period in July, the thermometer, in May, ascended from 85 to 93, 94, and even to 99, and, in the former part of June, from 95 to 93. During these months, the heat is often very oppressive; the body is in a state of continual perspiration, even in the shade, and two or three changes of linen are sometimes necessary in the course of the day.

In the wet season, viz. from the middle of July to the same period in September, the author found the thermometer, upon an average, to be from 85 to 90. From this it will be seen, that the rains have a considerable effect upon the air, so as to sink the thermometer eight or ten degrees, yet in this season the want of air becomes ve. ry oppressive.

In what the natives call the surůd, or sultry season, viz. from the middle of September to the same period in November, the thermometer appears to have stood, upon an average, at from 86 to 90.

The rains seldom end before the middle of October, except the season be very dry. Were it not that the rains have such an important effect upon the productions of the earth, and did they not so agreeably change the face of nature, people would wish them at an end long before the season expires. In the rains, every thing grows mouldy, the white ants multiply into myriads, and devour all before them; it is difficult to preserve woollen clothes, and a thousand other things from decay.

In September and in the beginning of October the natives die in great numbers.

In order to cool the hot wind on its entrance into the house, Europeans place what are called tatees in the windows and door-ways. These tatees are made of the fragrant roots of the andropogon muricata, (kŭs-kŭs) spread and fastened upon a frame the size of the window or door, and laticed with split bamboos. The wind easily penetrates these tatees, which are kept wet by a servant's throwing water upon them; and thus the wind, as it enters the room, is most agreeably cooled, and by this contrivance, even in the hot winds, the heat in rooms becomes more tolerable than in times when the atmosphere is close and sultry.

Three fourths of those who die during the whole year, it is said, die in July, August, September, and October.

Some Europeans are more healthful at one period of the year, and some at another, but the longer a person stays in India, the more he is affected by the cold. A simple and light diet, a tranquil mind, caution against sudden changes in the air, and moderate exercise, seem to be the most necessary things in Bengal to preserve health.

The cold is scarcely ever so great as to produce ice, except in the northern parts. Yet many poor, for want of clothing, suffer much in the cold season, and numbers of cattle perish through cold and want of food. The natives complain much more of the cold than of the heat; and yet the heat is sometimes so intense, that even native travellers are struck dead by it. The storms of wind and rain are frequently tremendous, tearing up trees, overturning houses, &c. and in the wet season, at times, the rain descends in sheets rather than in drops, so that in twenty-four hours, a whole district is overflowed.

The hot winds are trying, especially in the upper provinces, though some Europeans are very healthful at this season; through what is called the prickly heat, the bodies of multitudes, especially new-comers, are almost covered with pimples, which prick like thorns. Exposure to the sun very often brings on bilious fevers; boils are also very common during the hot season. I have sometimes wondered that the rheumatism should be so prevalent in Bengal, but I suppose it is owing to the heat leaving the body in so unfit a state to bear the chills of the night air; still the fishermen, exposed to the blazing sun through the day, sleep without apparent harm in the open air on their boats all night, almost without any covering: it is common too for multitudes of the natives to sleep under trees, and even in the open air by the side of their shops or houses. In this respect, we see that the body is whatever habit makes it: he who sleeps on a stone, or a board, is as much refreshed as the man who lies on a feather-bed; and he who sleeps on his open boat, or in a damp place in the open street, with a rag for a coverlid, sleeps as soundly as the man who

shuts up his room for fear of the night-dews, and creeps under a thick coverlid, tucking the curtains round him.* Many poor natives sleep in places, where, if some people were to set their feet they would receive cold. Almost on the soft earth, with a single cloth for their covering, multitudes may be seen every night lying by the side of the street in Calcutta. One night's lodging of this kind would, in all probability, hurry a European to his grave.

Were I disposed to pursue a contrast betwixt the climate of Bengal and that of England, it would be easy to turn the scale on either side. For instance, it might be said, that in Bengal nature always appears in an extravagant mood. In the rainy season, during several months, the rains descend in torrents, inundate the plains, and by giving an amazing stimulus to vegetation, transform the whole country into a wilderness. In the summer, the beams of the sun smite to death the weary traveller, and burn the earth to a cinder. When the winds blow, they either scorch you, or rise into an enfuriated tempest, hurling to destruction the tall pines, and the lowly dwellings of the cottagers; and even the cold of Bengal was well described by an honest Scotchman, "I can bear the chilling blasts of Caledonia, but this— this cold, I know not what to do with it." I might add, that in Bengal the flowers are not so sweet, the birds do not sing so charmingly, the gardens are not so pro

* Gauze, or what are called musquitoe curtains, are absolutely necessary in this country, these insects being peculiarly troublesome. Millions upon millions infest the houses in Calcutta, where even a plough-boy would in vain seek rest unless protected by curtains. Even with this advantage, a person will scarcely be able to sleep; for these troublesome guests haunt the bed, hang on the curtains, and excite in the person, half asleep, the fear that they are coming to attack him in a body, like a pack of blood-hounds. Their proboscis is very long; and, as soon as it enters the flesh, it pricks very sharply; and if not driven away, the musquitoe fills himself with blood till it shines through his skin. If he be perceived when thus distended with blood, he becomes an easy prey, but if you smite him, your clothes will be covered with blood. The natives are less disturbed by these insects, as they give their skins a coating of oil; but Europeans just arrived are a delicious repast, and it often happens, that they are so covered with musquitoe bites, that it would be thought they had caught the measles. When a person is very irritable, he scratches his arms, legs, &c. till they become full of wounds, and he thus inflicts on himself still greater torments. A curious scene is exhibited when a European is disappointed in obtaining curtains: he lies down, and begins to be sleepy perhaps, when the musquitoes buz about his ear, and threaten to lance him. While he drives them from his ears or nose, two or three sit on his feet, and draw his blood; while he is aiming his blows at those on his feet, others again sieze his nose, and whatever part assumes the resting posture, becomes a prey to the musquitoes, who never give up the contest till they have sucked to the full; and can never be kept off, but by the person's sitting up, and fighting with them all night.

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