TANIIIR, more commonly written TANJORE, an important town of India, in the presidency of Madras, 180 m. s.s.w. of the city of that name, in the midst of an extensive plain, on oue of the branches of the delta of the Kaveri. The town com prises two forts and several suburbs. Thd former are so connected that they may almost be regarded as one. The smaller of the two is a parallelogram in shape, and 600 yards in extreme length. It is joined on the north to the larger fort, which is cir cular in shape, and 1100 yards in greatest diameter. The walls of both are lofty and strong, and are surrounded by a ditch cut out of the solid stone. The principal edifices of Tanjur are the great pagoda, esteemed the finest specimen of a pyramidal temple in Hindustan (see INDIAN ARCHITECTURE), and the palace of the rajah. Silks, muslins, and cottons are manufactured. Pop.'71, 52,175. The province of Tanjur, of which the town of the same name is capital, has an area of 3,735 sq.m., and contained, in 1871,
1,975, 042 inhabitants.
The mud in Indian tanks has been found to abound in fdarke, some of which closely resemble the guinea-worm infesting the human body. Although there. is no positive evidence, there is extreme probability that these tank-worms are the origin, --- • .
of the guinea-worm. Dr. Carter, who has had much personal observation of the guinea worm in India, " argues, and apparently with good reason, no tank-worm, no guinea worm. Persons who bathe in water in which the former is found may expect to hays the latter." Mr. Bastian, who has written an excellent paper on the anatomy of the guinea-worm, states that there is an undoubted anatomical relation between it and the tank-worm. The real difficulty in the theory is that these tank-worms are widely dif fused, while the guinea-worm is restricted in its localization.