252 REPORT—1852. 
Are any parts of the body held sacred, or the reverse? Do they offer sacri- 
fices, and are they of an expiatory character, or mere gifts ? 
94. Have they any sacred days or periods? fixed or moveable feasts, or 
religious ceremonies of any kind, or any form of thanksgiving or other 
observance connected with seasons ? 
95. Have they any order of priests, and if so, are they hereditary, elective, 
or determined by any particular circumstance? 
96. Is the religion of the people similar to that of any other people, neigh- 
bouring or remote? If different, are they widely so, or dependent on par- 
ticular modifications, and of what kind ? 
97. In what light do they regard the religion and deities of neighbouring 
tribes? 
98. Is there any idea of an inferior order of spirits and imaginary beings, 
—such as ghosts, fairies, brownies, and goblins ; and how are they described ? 
99. Have they any notions of magic, witchcraft, or second sight? © 
100. What ideas are entertained respecting the heavenly bodies? Have 
they any distinction of stars, or constellations? and if so, what names do they 
give them, and what do these names signify ? 
101. Are they in any manner observed with reference to the division of 
the year, and how? : 
102. If time is not divided by observations of those bodies, what other 
mode is adopted? and do observances connected with them rest with the 
priests or chiefs? 
103. When the traveller, by personal acquaintance with the language, or 
by means of competent assistance from interpreters, can freely converse with 
the people, it will be desirable that he should form some idea of their amount 
of intelligence, their tone of mind with regard to social relations, as respects 
freedom, independence, or subserviency, and their recognition of moral obli- 
gations, and any other psychological character which observation may detect ; 
and more especially such as may contribute to an estimation of the probable 
results of efforts to develope and improve the character. 
In using this little manual, it should be borne in mind that it is not a mere 
guide to inquire into those tribes that are threatened with extinction, nor to 
make out.certain details which are desiderata in our knowledge of the people 
of any given locality, but is intended to direct inquiry generally respecting 
the varieties of man. 
Mean Temperature of the Day and Monthly Fall of Rain at 127 
Stations under the Bengal Presidency, from official Registers kept 
by Medical Officers, for the year 1851. By Cotonet SyYKEs, 
F.R.S. 3 
[Ordered to be printed entire among the Reports. ] 
Dr. GrorGceE Lames, late Physician-General in Bengal, has been good enough 
to transmit to me the following analysis of official meteorological returns, made 
by medical officers of the Bengal Presidency to the Medical Board in Calcutta. 
They are limited to the returns of mean daily temperature and fall of rain, the 
extreme difficulty of getting barometers conveyed in safety to distant stations, 
not one in three sent over reaching its destination in an efficient state, having 
left the great majority of medical officers without the means of determining 
the varying pressure of the atmosphere; and with regard to the moisture in — 

