EASTERN II I N D O O S T A N. gi 



great numbers in this country ; they live here all the vear 

 round, and with the hooded crows, Br. ZooL i. N° 77, feed in 

 the very ftreets ; but in Bengal the kites retire to the mountains, 

 and return in the dry feafoii, telling that the rains are paft. 

 As to the crows, their familiarity and audacity is amazing; 

 they frequent the courts of the Europeans, and as the fervants 

 are carrying in dinner will ahght on the dillies, and carry away 

 the meat, if not driven away by perfons who attend with flicks 

 for that purpofe. 



Let me here obferve, that a Mr. Edward Bu/keley, a furgeon 

 in the laft century, communicated to our great Ray, the defcrip- 

 tions, attended with drawings, of twenty-feven fpecies of birds 

 found about Madras. The account is given and the draw- 

 ings engraven in ]Mr. Rafs Synopjis Avium ; a proof, in thofe 

 early times, of attention to fcience. 



Far to the weft of Madras are a chain of hills, often inter- 

 rupted, which begin about the fame diftance from Gingi ; the 

 laft are formed of immenfe rocks detached, and feemingly 

 placed on each other by human art, and intermixed are feveral 

 of the ftrong forts of the natives. In the neighborhood of 

 Pondicherry they are formed of decompofed fieldt-fpath and 

 ferruginous matter ; within them are vaft grottos, which have 

 been by the Indians formed into Pagodas, fupported by co- 

 lumns, probably like thofe QiElephanta, What is very fingular " 

 is, that on thefe mountains, now deftitute of every mark of 

 vegetation, are found vaft trees, wholly petrified, lying in all 

 diredions acrofs the ravines ; and fome, fo as to form bridges 

 over thofe chafms. Thofe trees are now of the fame materials 



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