206 Mr. Waldie’s investigations connected [No. 3, 
convenience I shall briefly state how I shall speak of them in 
what follows. From the middle of June when the rains generally 
commence and the river rises, till the end of October or middle of 
November, when the rains have ceased and the river is rapidly falling, 
I shall speak of as the rainy season; thence till the end of February 
as the cold season; and thence again till the rains recommence as the 
hot season. The first is identical with Dr. Macnamara’s “‘ Full season,” 
the two latter with his ‘ Low season.” 
During the rains, the river comes down in full stream from the parent 
Ganges through the effluents which unite to form the Hooghly, viz. the 
Bhagiruthy, Matabangah and Jellinghy, with contributions from other 
tributaries from the west. During that period, and more particularly 
during its earlier part, the water is loaded with mud in a very 
fine state of division and very slow in settling. As the season comes 
near its termination, the water becomes clearer, and remains so during 
the cold season, any mud in suspension rapidly settling. The water, 
which during the rains naturally contained the smallest proportion of 
saline matter, now contains more, the proportion gradually increasing 
till the end of February, the first increase having been more rapid at 
the stoppage of the rains. All this, of course, is the natural and obvious 
result of evaporation without any rainfall to supply the place of the 
lost water, aggravated by the diminished supply of water from the 
Ganges caused by the bars at the entrance to the tributary effluents. 
These causes operate with still greater power during the hot season, aided 
by strong southerly winds and powerful tides. During this season the 
mud is stirred up, and the water rendered more dirty, but the mud is 
not in the same state as during the rains, and settles without difficulty. 
The influence of the tides becomes increasingly felt as the season 
advances, and the admixture of sea water becomes unmistakable. 
The following table exhibits the results I have obtained as respects 
the amount of solid residue obtained by evaporating the water. They 
are given for 100,000 grs. of water, instead of the Imperial gallon used 
by Dr. Macnamara. By multiplying by 7 and dividing by 10, the 
quantities per gallon are obtained. 
Lhe following Table showing the amount of solid matter dried at 
212° to 220° Fah. in the river water at ebb tide, at a point from two to 
three miles above Calcutta. 
