BENGAL, the most eastern province of Hindostan, ... and one of the fifteen Sonbahs, into which that em pire was divided in the reign of Acbar is situated on each side of the river Ganges.. It is bound ed on the north, by Asam, Bootan, and Balm- ; on the south, by Orissa, and the bay of Bengal ; on the west, by Bahar, Berar, and Orissa ; and on the'east, by a range of mountains, by which it is separated from Gassay, Aracan, and the Birman dominions.
Its greatest length, from east to west, is about 720 miles ; and its greatest breadth, from north to south, about 300 ; extending from 30' to 26° 40' N. , Lat., and from 86° to 92° 30' E. Long. " The natural situation of Bengal is singularly happy with respect to security from the attacks of foreign ene mies. On the north and east, it has no warlike neighbours ;. and has, moreover, a formidable barrier of mountains, rivers, or extensive waters, towards those quarters, should such an enemy start up. On the south, is a sea.coast, guarded by shallows and impenetrable woods, and with only one port (and even that Z difficult access) in an extent of 300 i miles. It is on the west only, that any enemy is to be apprehended ; and, even there, the natural barrier is strong ; and with its population and resources aided by the usual proportion of British troops, in addition to the Sepoy establishment, Bengal might bid defiance to all that part of Hindostan, which might find itself inclined to become its enemy." Rennel's Memoir, p. cxv.
As the province of Bengal lies almost entirely within the torrid zone, and borders on several exten sive sandy wastes, it is subject to great extremes of heat ; and is accounted more unhealthy to Europeans, than any other British settlement in India, except that of Bencoolen. The south-east quarter espe cially, in which the town of Calcutta is situated, and which is a flat marshy country, was deemed at first almost as destructive as Batavia : and at one period, when the whole Europeans resident in Calcutta did not exceed 1200, 400 burials were numbered in six months. The great and general cause of disease, in this coun try, is an excess of bile, which occasions fevers, dy sentery, inflammation of liver, with a long train of nervous affections. These diseases are most preva lent in the months of September and October, are generally very rapid in their progress, and chiefly attack those, who are newly arrived from Europe ; but the introduction of a more temperate and regu lar mode of living, and the more intimate acquaint ance which the medical practitioners have acquired ‘vith the peculiar diseases of the country, have con tributed to render their attacks less frequent and fatal. The varieties of disease are not numerous ; their treatment is extremely uniform ; almost every stage has its appropriate remedy ; and no where are the prescriptions of the physician more certainly fol lowed with success. By cutting canals, by draining
the offensive marshes, and by clearing the ground of trees and jungle, the climate has been already, and may be expected to be still farther, improved ; but with all that can be done, it must always prove a severe trial to every European constitution. Even who are not materially injured by its influence, are scarcely capable of any exertion, and during the hot season, particularly, it is not uncommon to find the whole officers of a battalion, except one or two individuals, utterly unfit for duty ; and this without any extraordinary or alarming complaints This in salubrity is supposed to be owing, in a great measure, to the prevalence of the hot winds, which are occa sionally loaded with sandy particles, which are pecu liarly pernicious to persons asleep, and frequently so suffocating as to be almost insupportable by the na tives themselves ; but principally to the stagnate waters and putrescent substances, which are left upon the flat surface of the country, by the frequent inundations of its rivers. The seasons are here com monly distinguished by the terms hot, cold, and rainy ; but the natives subdivide them into six, corn prizing two months in each. The hot season con tinues from the beginning of March to the end of May ; and during this period, the thermometer very frequently rises to 190, sometimes even to 110 ; but in the middle parts of Bengal the extreme sultryness of the weather is greatly moderated by occasional thunder storms, accompanied with rain or hail, dri ven by sudden gusts of north-west wind ; while in the eastern districts, milder showers of rain are still more frequent, and peculiarly refreshing to the heated at mosphere ; but in the districts contiguous to Bahar, a parching wind from the west, continues during the greater part of the season. The rainy season com mences in June, and lasts till October ; and during the two first months, the rain is so heavy and con stant, that frequently three, four, and even five inches of water have fallen in one day ; but during the two last months, there are frequent intermissions of the rain, the weather is rather close and sultry, and thick unwholesome fogs prevail. The cold season continues from November to February, during which period northerly winds prevail, the sky is clear and unclou ded, and the weather generally pleasant to an Euro pean constitution. The dews during the night are abundant and penetrating, and greatly... assist the progress of vegetation ; while, in the more mountain ous districts, even frost and extreme cold are fre quently experienced.