260 JHEELS OF BENGAL. Chap. XXVITI. 



Mahanuddy and Ganges at the western extremity of the 

 delta, considerably higher than I shonld have expected, 

 considering how gentle the current is, and that the season 

 was that of low water. If my observations are correct, 

 they probably indicate a diminished pressure, which is not 

 easily accounted for, the lower portion of the atmospheric 

 column at Rampore being considerably drier and therefore 

 heavier than at Calcutta. At the eastern extremity again, 

 towards Silhet, the atmosphere is much damper than at 

 Calcutta, and the barometer should therefore have stood 

 lower, indicating a higher level of the waters than is the 

 case. 



To the geologist the Jheels and Sunderbunds are a 

 most instructive region, as whatever may be the mean 

 elevation of their waters, a permanent depression of 

 ten to fifteen feet would submerge an immense tract, 

 which the Ganges, Burrampooter, and Soormah would 

 soon cover with beds of silt and sand. There would be 

 extremely few shells in the beds thus formed, the southern 

 and northern divisions of which would present two very 

 different floras and faunas, and would in all probability be 

 referred by future geologists to widely different epochs. To 

 the north, beds of peat would be formed by grasses, and 

 in other parts, temperate and tropical forms of plants and 

 animals would be preserved in such equally balanced pro- 

 portions as to confound the palaeontologist ; with the bones 

 of the long-snouted alligator, Gangetic porpoise, Indian cow r , 

 buffalo, rhinoceros, elephant, tiger, deer, boar, and a host 

 of other animals, he would meet with acorns of several spe- 

 cies of oak, pine-cones and magnolia fruits, rose seeds, and 

 Cycas nuts, with palm nuts, screw-pines, and other tropical 

 productions. On the other hand, the Sunderbunds portion, 

 though containing also the bones of the tiger, deer, and 



