2 CALCUTTA. Chap. I. 



the tertiary formations at the . mouth of the Thames, and 

 having floated about there in as great profusion as here, till 

 buried deep in the silt and mud that now forms the island 

 of Sheppey.* 



Higher up, the river Hoogly is entered, and large trees, 

 with villages and cultivation, replace the sandy spits and 

 marshy jungles of the great Gangetic delta. A few miles 

 below Calcutta, the scenery becomes beautiful, beginning 

 with the Botanic Garden, once the residence of Roxburgh 

 and Wallich, and now of Falconer, — classical ground to 

 the naturalist. Opposite are the gardens of Sir Lawrence 

 Peel ; unrivalled in India for their beauty and cultiva- 

 tion, and fairly entitled to be called the Chatsworth of 

 Bengal. A little higher up, Calcutta opened out, with the 

 batteries of Fort William in the foreground, thundering 

 forth a salute, and in a feAv minutes more all other thoughts 

 were absorbed in watching the splendour of the arrange- 

 ments made for the reception of the Governor- General 

 of India. 



During my short stay in Calcutta, I was principally 

 occupied in preparing for an excursion with Mr. Williams 

 of the Geological Survey, who was about to move his 

 camp from the Damooda valley coal-fields, near Burdwan, to 

 Beejaghur on the banks of the Soane, where coal was 

 reported to exist, in the immediate vicinity of water- 

 carriage, the great desideratum of the Burdwan fields. 



My time was spent partly at Government-House, and 

 partly at Sir Lawrence Peel's residence. The former I 

 was kindly invited to consider as my Indian home, an 

 honour which I appreciate the more highly, as the invita- 

 tion was accompanied with the assurance that I should 



* Bowerbank " On the Fossil Fruits and Seeds of the Isle of Sheppey," and 

 Lyell's " Elements of Geology," 3rd ed. p. 201. 



