Vol. Ill, No. 10,] Three varieties of CorcLorus capsularis. 637 



Pumeah, Jalpaignri and Eangpur, while the fourth is rather far 



away in Chittagong. The possession in common by Purneah, 



Rangpur and Chittagong of the variety Marua suggests a wider 



distribution yet, which we are now endeavouring to ascertain. 



Probfibly its dispersal is, more or less, a result of the rarity of 



early rains vegetables in Northern and Eastern Bengal. It has 



been noted that Hamilton found it full grown and flowering in 



early August, and we found it in the same condition in early 



August at Purneah; while at Jalpaiguri in early August the 



varieties pyrifoUa and corylifolia were in flower and had been con- 

 siderably plucked over. 



"Whatever Hamilton may have written about the plant in his 

 account of Rangpur we do not know, for Montgomery Martin 

 chose to close his volumes (History, Topography, etc., of Eastern 

 India, London, 1838) without Hamilton's chapters on the natural 

 history of that district. But, from a remark which occurs in the 

 account of Purneah (iii., p. 236), we know that Hamilton up to 

 1811 had only found his 0. Marua in Rangpur : but he had been 

 told that leaves of 0- capsularis were eaten in Purneah. What 

 form or variety of tJ, capsularis this could have been, we have no 

 right to guess : evidently Hamilton did not believe it to be var. 

 Marua, which is now eaten there. 



Before closing we wish to refer to the relationships of these 

 varieties to the type. The following two figures are of the leaves 

 of C capsularis and G. olitorius, and are intended to show the 



Typical Corchorus olitorius 



Typical Corchorus capsularis. 



