CHOLERA IN INDIA, 1862 το 1881.
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BENGAL PROVINCE.
Geographical position.—The Province of Bengal, or Lower Bengal as it is
also called, comprises the lower valleys and deltas of the Ganges, Brahmaputra,
and Mahanadi rivers, and lies between 19° 18' and 28° 15' north latitude and
between 82° and 97° east longitude. Excluding Assam, which was erected
into a separate administration in February 1874, the Bengal Province now
includes the four great divisions of Bengal Proper, Behar, Orissa, and Chota
Nagpur. Its divisions, districts, area, and population are shown in the
annexed tabular statement. The Bengal Province is the largest and most
populous of the Provincial Governments of British India, contains one-third
of the total population of British India, and yields a gross revenue of about
one-third of the aggregate revenues of the Indian Empire. But its cholera
statistics are the most meagre and the least reliable of those of any province
under British administration in India. The Bengal Province is bounded on the
north by Assam, Bhutan, and Nepal; on the east by the unexplored mountain-
ous region which separates it from China and Northern Burma ; on the south
by Burma, the Bay of Bengal, and Madras ; and on the west by an imagin-
ary line running between it and the adjoining local Government of the North-
Western Provinces, and by the plateau of the Central Provinces.
Of the four great divisions of the Bengal Province, Bengal Proper, Behar,
and Orissa consist of great river valleys, while the fourth, Chota Nagpur, is
a mountainous region which separates them from the Central India plateau.
Orissa embraces the rich delta of the Mahanadi and the neighbouring rivers,
bounded by the Bay of Bengal on the south-east, and walled in on the north-
west by tributary hill states. Proceeding eastward, Bengal Proper stretches
along the coast from Orissa to British Burma, and inland from the sea-board
to the Himalayas ; its southern portion is formed by the united deltas of the
Ganges and Brahmaputra ; its northern consists of the valleys of these great
rivers and their tributaries. Behar lies on the north-west of Bengal Proper,
and comprises the higher valley of the Ganges, from the spot where it issues
from the territory of the North-Western Provinces. Between Behar and
Orissa, but streching further westward, and deep into the hill country, lies
the Chota Nagpur territory.
Physical aspects.—The territory thus hemmed in, except at its north-
western angle, by the unchangeable landmarks of nature, consists chiefly
of two broad valleys. By the western one the Ganges brings down the
wealth and the accumulated waters of Northern India. By the eastern valley
the Brahmaputra, after draining the Tibetan plateau far to the north of the
Himalayas, and skirting round their passes not far from the Yang-tse-Kiang
and the great river of Cambodia, ends its tortuous journey of 1,800 miles.
These valleys, although for the most part luxuriant alluvial plains, are
diversified by spurs and peaks thrown out from the great mountain systems
which wall them in on the north-east and south-west. They yield in abund-
ance every vegetable product which feeds and clothes a people and enables it
to trade with foreign nations. The soil is equally varied. The districts near
the sea consist entirely of alluvial formations ; and, indeed, it is stated that
no substance so coarse as gravel occurs throughout the delta, or in the heart
of the province within 300 miles of the river mouths. But amid the hilly spurs
and undulations on either side, coal, iron, and copper ores abound.
Climate.—The climate varies from the snowy regions of the Himalayas,
to the tropical vapour bath of the delta and the burning winds of Behar.
The ordinary range of the thermometer on the plains is from about 52°F.
in the coldest month to 103° in the shade in summer ; anything below 60°F.
is considered very cold, The rainfall also varies greatly from 500 to
B