INTRODTTCTION 



India consists of three separate and well defined tracts. 

 The first Includes the lofty Himalaya Mountains, which shut it 

 out from the rest of Asia and foriDS an overruling factor in 

 the physical geography of Norther i India, The second region 

 stretches southwards from the "base of the Himalayas, and com- 

 prises the plains of the great rivers which issue from them. 

 The third region slopes upward again from the edge of the 

 river plains, knd consists of a high three-sided tableland. 



The second of these three regions, viz, the wide plains 

 watered fey the Him.'-ilayan rivers extend from the Bay of Bengal 

 on the east to the Afghan frontier and Arabian sea on the west, 

 and contains the richest and densely crowded provinces of the 

 country. This vast level tract is watered "by three distinct 

 river systems, the Indus, the Ganges and the Brahmaputra, The 

 present monograph covers only a small part of the second 

 region, the Lower (range tic Valley, including Calcxitta, the 

 metropolis of India, The original idea was to cover all the 

 fruits of India "but the limits of this thesis and the short- 

 ness of time rendered it impossible to do so, 



India has "been called the epitome of the whole world, A 

 country having its length from north to soutr and its greatest 

 "breadth from east to west Tsoth equal to 1900 miles, thus 

 covering an area equal to the whole of Europe minus Russia, 

 and extending from the 8th to the 35th degree north latitude, 

 that is to say, from the hottest regions of the equator to far 



