•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. 



The 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. 



