Jan. 1851. SETAKOOND HILL. LEAVE CHITTAGONG. 353 



grows Falconeria, a curious Eupliorbiaceous tree, with an 

 acrid milky juice that affects the eyes when the wood is 

 cut. Beautiful Cycas palms are also common, with Term?'- 

 nalia, Bignowia, Sterculia, dwarf Phwmcc palm, and Garjun 

 trees. The east slope of the mountain is damper, and 

 much more densely wooded; we there found two wild 

 species of nutmeg trees, whose wood is full of a brown 

 acrid oil, seven palms, tree-ferns, and many other kinds of 

 ferns, several kinds of oak, Draccena, and figs. The top 

 is 1,136 feet above the sea, and commands an extensive 

 view to all points of the compass ; but the forests, in which 

 the ashy bark of the Gurjun trees is conspicuous, and the 

 beautiful valley on the west, are the only attractive 

 features. 



The weather on the east side of the range differs at this 

 season remarkably from that on the west, where the vicinity 

 of the sea keeps the atmosphere more humid and warm, 

 and at the same time prevents the formation of the dense 

 fogs that hang over the valleys to the eastward every 

 morning at sunrise. We found the mean temperature at 

 the bungalow, from January 9th till the 13th, to be 70° 2. 



We embarked again at Chittagong on the 16th of 

 January, at 10 p.m., for Calcutta, in a very large vessel, 

 rowed by twelve men : we made wretchedly slow progress, 

 for the reasons mentioned above (p. 343), being for four 

 days within sight of Chittagong ! On the 20th we only 

 reached Sidhee, and thence made a stretch to Hattiah, an 

 island which may be said to be moving bodily to the 

 westward, the Megna annually cutting many acres from 

 the east side, and the tide-wave depositing mud on the 

 west. The surface is flat, and raised four feet above mean 

 high-water level ; the tide rises about 14 feet up the bank, 

 and then retires for miles ; the total rise and fall is, 



VOL. II. A A 



