SURINAM, one of the provinces of Dutch Guiana, which derives its name from a river of the same name in which the capital Paramaribo stands, at the distance of 18 miles from its mouth. It is bounded on the north by the Atlantic, on the east by the Marawina or Maroni, on the south by an Indian territory, and part of French Guiana, and on the west by the river Corentyn. Its extent is about 150 miles from west to east, and 60 from north to south. The chief rivers are the Surinam, the Corentyn, the Copename, the Seramica and the Marawina. These rivers are generally from two to four miles broad, and are very shallow and rocky, with numerous waterfalls. The water rises and falls about 60 miles from the mouth of the river.
The climate of Surinam is now greatly improved in consequence of the clearing of the ground and the diminution of the swamp. The thermometer ranges between 70° and 84°, and the year is divi ded into two dry and two wet seasons. The first
wet season is from the middle of April to August, the long dry season continues from August to No vember. The second wet season occurs in Decem ber and January,and the second dry season in Febru ary and March. The great rains fall in the middle of June.
The banks of the creeks or rivulets, which are both large and numerous, are cultivated by Europe ans, with coffee, sugar, cocoa, and indigo planta tions, which present a delightful picture to those travelling by water. In the time of Capt. Sted man there were about 700 plantations producing annually more than a million sterling. He com puted the number of slaves at 75,000, and the an nual supply at 2500. Paramaribo, the capital, contains about 5000 souls, of whom about 1800 were whites. A full account of the Natural His tory of Surinam will be found in our article GUIANA, Vol. X. p. 144.