Vol. IV, No. 9.] The Kosi River. 483 
[N.S.] 
I admit that, owing to greater declivity of bed, the Chota Nagpur 
streams are not a true parallel with such rivers as the Kosi, and 
also that Bonificazione is only practical in the saa of streams 
whose bottoms are not visibly peony ; at the same time it must be 
admitted that a are to be learnt from the methods of the 
Chota Nagpuri 
he Kosi River i is really only of local interest; the examina- 
tion so far made in this note, however, leads to questions of more 
middle age; as the ee decreases beyond that fare in the c cain 
of rivers running through country formed by their own. deposits, 
after passing the ine state between old middle age and 
young old age, old age actually sets in and the action of the river 
changes ; despite a sic grade , and one which has fallen 
almost to a minimum, the river begins to deepen its channel. 
This is the second real sign of self-destruction ; the first sign is to 
be observed during the transitional stage. After raising the 
surrounding country as far as possible, the river must begin to 
wide and shallow stream, and later, by a series of contractions, 
due to the actual middle of the stream beginning to eat away a 
suitable bed, a final and winding course is decided upon and 
pee ed. 
than it used to be; it is not Fa posatide tise hat the Ganges hopes 
shortly to assume a permanent bed, but, if modern theories are 
of ony value, and they are based on carefully recorded experience 
many erm of the world, we ave only to look at the Himalayas 
to obtain the correct answer. According to Russell,! in round 
numbers, the basin of the Mississippi i is being reduced in height 
at the rate of one foot in about 4,000 years; this lation 
inclades both mechanical and chemical action; and before the 
Seives ae Tista, the Kosi, or any other similarly-situated 
d to have reached a transitional stage, the height 
of th the H Misoalaya must have been considerably reduced; these 




1 See page 84 of Professor Russell’s River Development. 
