BACKERGUN'GE, a t. of Bengal, situated on B. creek, an offset from the Ganges, in lat. 22° ' E., and long. 90° 2' e.-125 m. to the e. of Calcutta. Till supplanted by Burrisol, which is 12 m. to the n„ it was the capital of the district of the same name.
the district named from the foregoing town. It extends in n. lat. from 22° 2' to 23° 13', and in e. long. from 89°49' to 91°, containing 4935 sq.m., and (1871) 2,377,433 inhabitants, or about 480 inhabitants to a sq.m. Like the rest of the great delta of Bengal, B. is of alluvial formation and level surface, being watered at once by the lower streams of the Ganges and the Brahmaputra, and also by the various branches or offsets which interlace together those mighty rivers. In consequence of the great number of water-courses, which at once cool the atmosphere and drain the soil, the country is fertile, and the temperature is said never to rise above 88° in the shade. Prom
the same cause, the district is independent of regular roads for intercourse and com munication. In the season of high-water, as may be expected, inundations are common. To guard against them, the houses are built on mounds; while the corresponding excav ations, like the natural "water-holes" of Australia, serve as tanks against the effects of the dry season. As is often the case in alluvial regions, laud-slips are frequent, and also the opening of new channels for the streams. The productions are rice, sugar, cotton, pulse, mustard, cocoa-nut, betel-nut, mango, guava, plantains, limes, pine-apple, ginger, and turmeric. Buffaloes are said to be generally used instead of oxen, of which the domestic breed is small and poor.