INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. ' 243 



Rubiacea, Eugenia, Gouania, and with occasionally immense 

 quantities of Alpinia, more rarely Rosa involucrata, Calamus 

 Rotang, and in sandy places Tarnarix. 



Convolvuli, a few Asclepiadece, Cucurbit acea, and all the 

 weeds of Bengal, abound in favourable situations; and by 

 the villages a few scattered figs, clumps of bamboo, mango, 

 and Areca, are all seen, though rarely. 



5. TlPPERA AND CHITTAGONG. 



The valley of the Surma is separated from that of Manipur 

 by a meridional range of moderate elevation, which is con- 

 tinued to the southward, and separates Tippera, Chittagong, 

 and Aracan from the kingdom of Ava. The nature and 

 elevation of the axis of this range are unknown, but its ra- 

 mifications extend to the sea-coast, and are separated by cul- 

 tivated valleys, the direction of which is in general south- 

 westerly or nearly due south. These ranges appear to in- 

 crease in elevation as we proceed southward, but our know- 

 ledge of them is very imperfect. Blue Mountain, which lies 

 nearly due west of Chittagong, is said to attain the consider- 

 able elevation of 8000 feet, and a peak on the same range 

 forty miles to the south-west, in lat. 22°, is elevated (accord- 

 ing to Wilcox's map) 3100 feet. Sitakund, thirty miles north 

 of Chittagong, has an elevation of 1140 feet. 



The provinces of Tippera and Chittagong are throughout 

 hilly. Along the sea-coast there is in general a narrow belt 

 of level ground, and the basins of the rivers are usually wide 

 and well cultivated for a considerable distance inland. In the 

 upper part of their course, however, they are hemmed in by 

 hills, and a broad belt of impenetrable forest occupies the in- 

 terior, and forms an impassable boundary between the British 



ar 



territories and those of Ava. The climate is simi 

 of Bengal. From the proximity of the sea and the situation 

 within the tropic, the winter is very mild, and the atmosphere 

 always humid. The rain-fall during the monsoon is about the 

 same as in Bengal, at least on the sea-coast and in its imme- 



