Chap. XIX. 
THE SUNDERBUNDS. 
291 
disappointment. Let them sow the seeds in Ward's 
cases as I have described, and they are almost sure of 
success. If they are to be sent to a great distance, they 
should be sown thinly, not in masses. 
The collections under my care being ready, I received 
orders from the Indian Government to proceed onwards 
on the 25th of March in one of the small river steamers 
as far as Allahabad. The Hooghly was shallow at this 
time of the year, it being the dry season in India. We 
were therefore obliged to go down the river to its 
mouth, and across amongst the Sunderbunds. This 
vast country stretches from the river Hooghly on the 
western side of the bay of Bengal to Chittagong on the 
east, and is upwards of two hundred miles across. It is 
cut up into hundreds of islands, some having the appear- 
ance of being surrounded by arms of the sea, while 
others are formed by rivers which intersect the land in 
all directions. These are the many mouths of the Ganges 
by which that mighty river empties itself into the bay of 
Bengal. 
I was much struck with the dense vegetation of the 
Sunderbunds. The trees are low and shrubby in appear- 
ance ; they grow close to the water's edge, and many dip 
their branches into the stream. The ground is so low in 
many places as to be nearly covered at high water or 
during spring-tides. 
A great portion of the Sunderbunds is uninhabited 
by man. Here the Bengal tiger roams unmolested in 
his native wilds. I was told that the poor wood-cutters 
who come here in boats to cut wood are frequently 
carried off by this animal, notwithstanding all the 
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