1863.] FERGUSSON DELTA OF THE GANGES. 347 



may expect that the retrocession will now go on at a rapidly in- 

 creasing rate. Whether our railway-works and bridge may be able 

 to prevent this or not remains to be seen. If they do so, it can 

 only be at an enormous annual expenditure for embanking and 

 repairs. In fact, had the engineers been aware of this physical 

 fact, they would probably have placed their bridge very much 

 further up the stream than they have done. But be this as it may, 

 it will be extremely interesting to watch now the progress of the 

 stream ; and having two surveys, separated by an interval of eighty 

 years, and the old indications of the Greek geographers, we may 

 from these data obtain a tolerable index by which to measure the 

 progress of the delta seawards, or its progressive elevation above the 

 sea-level at Rajmahal. 



The next stream that ought to be affected is the Sarjoo, or Gogra. 

 It does not, however, seem to have been affected at all ; indeed, at 

 first sight, it seems to have been moved downwards since Bunnell's 

 survey. This arises, however, only from the Ganges having cut off 

 a sharp bend at this point of its course, and the river Gogra flowing 

 through the arm thus left unoccupied. It does not appear probable, 

 however, that it can remain much longer uninfluenced by these 

 changes ; but, until it is so, it may be taken as the fixed point beyond 

 which the extension of the delta has not in recent times affected the 

 slope of the bed of the Ganges. 



The only indication I have been able to obtain of the Gogra, 

 or Ghagra, having travelled westward, in historical times, is the fol- 

 lowing : — 



There is an old bed of an old river which leaves the present 

 Gun duck at a point somewhere between Bakhra and Lalgunge, and 

 joins the Ganges opposite Bar. This branch, I have just stated, was 

 probably an old bed of the Gunduck ; but it still bears the name of 

 Ghagra ; and those who know how permanent Indian names are will 

 hardly hesitate to believe that it may have been an old channel of that 

 river. The evidence cannot be considered as conclusive, however, as 

 I have been unable to trace the course of that river across Sarun. 

 Nothing can be more probable than that, when the Gunduck joined 

 the Ganges opposite Monghyr, the Ghagra should have joined oppo- 

 site Bar ; or that the Gunduck should have cut across that stream 

 at Bakhra and occupied its lower portion, just as the Bogmutty has 

 cut into the old Gunduck and occupied its lower portion ; and, lastly, 

 that the new Gunduck should have broken through and sought an 

 independent opening into the parent stream. The Bogmutty will 

 certainly do this one day ; at present it is too small and weak a stream 

 to act with the energy of the Coosy or Gunduck, but it must even- 

 tually come to this. 



The next move must be that the Ghagra will seek a junction with 

 the Tonse, and join the Ganges either through its bed or further 

 west. I am not aware, however, that any tendency in that direc- 

 tion has yet been observed. 



