Much as has been written respecting this sanatory station, we have no doubt that further intelligence concerning it, from sources of the most unexceptionable kind, will prove satisfactory to the public. Through the kindness of the secretary to the Medical Board, we have been permitted to peruse a variety of official documents on the subject, from the first establishment of the sanatarium up to the present month-including the monthly reports of Mr. Rhodes, the assistant surgeon of the station-that of lieutenant Fisher, of the quarter master general's department, and the still more recent general one of Mr. Skipton, the superintending surgeon of Berhampore ; who visited Chirra towards the end of the last rainy season, for the purpose of gaining every possible information respecting the place, which the Medical Board had arranged within his circle of superinten. dence.

It may be premised that the tract which has now passed under the sway of the British government, is comprised under a long irregular figure, about fifty miles in length, between the parallels of 25° 8 and 25° 52' north latitude-and the meridians 0° 0' 20" west from Sylhet. About fifteen miles on the northern side of this tract, are occupied by wooded hills, forming the descent from an open table land, which fills all the central parts, easily accessible by cattle, or pedestrians, though traversed by ravines, and broken into steep knolls of considerable altitude. The chief difficulty of approach to this cool and salubrious region, is on the side of Sylhet, which commences about three miles from Pandua. The vegetable productions between Pandua and Chirra may be comprised in the jungle usually found at the foot of a mountain range in tropical climates, and which diminishes as the altitude increases, until about Chirra, the site of the sanatarium, the country hecomes remarkable for its bareness, and the great scarcity of trees. The principal among those near the foot of the hills are the orange, the lime, the bamboo, the jack, the mangoe, the cotton, and nearer the summit (at Chirra), will be found the raspberry and the strawberry. The rocks consist of limestone and sandstone, the latter of which is very soft and easily acted upon by the atmosphere, and all the precipices are formed of it. This limestone contains several fossils, and the quarries from which it is procured are all situated near the foot of the hills and contiguous to navigable streams, by which it is conveyed in the rains to

Chattack. The orange trees are planted only about the foot of the hills, and yield a large crop of a very superior fruit, which is exported in great quantities to Bengal. They ripen in November, and are brought to market in baskets by the Cossyahs, or natives of these hilly regions, until the end of March, selling usually at the rate of one thousand for the rupee.

The table land commences at the crest northward of Chirra, and continues, without marked alteration, to Nunclow. This tract may be conveniently divided into two portions; that north of the Bograpani, distinguished by its barrenness, the absence of all cultivation, and the char acter of its rocks, which are all sandstone; the other, lying to the southward of the above stream, has a superior soil, capable of cultivation, and produces considerable crops of various grain and pulse, besides large crops of paddy grown only in numerous small vallies by which this part of the country are intersected. The other charactersistics of this division are its pine woods, which begin to appear at Moflang and Molim in clumps of small trees, and the granite boulders which are found of various dimensions, containing from one hundred to five thousand cubic feet. Judging from the variety and perfection of the grains and pulse grown on the slope of the hills, and the depth and richness of the soil. Mr. Fisher thinks that wheat, barley, oats, and European grains, as well as grasses, might be advantageously cultivated here, though a series of experiments would be necessary for ascertaining their proper seasons, with reference to the frosts of winter and the heavy summer rains. The climate, he states, appears to be influenced not merely by the altitude, but also by proximity to the central parts of the range. Those which lie near the edge of the table land, as Chirra, &c. being subject, during parts of the year, to mists and heavy falls of rain. Some idea of the coolness which prevails in the summer, through these tracts, may be formed from the circum. stance of woollen cloth dresses having been worn at Chirra throughout the month of May, by all the Europeans engaged in the operations among the Cos syah hills, although that month is considered by the Natives, as in other parts of India, the warmest of the year. During the winter, frosts are frequent, and ice is commonly found in all the rivulets at day. break, but melts in the course of the day. No snow ever falls. Mr. Fisher appears to think that the character for

bravery of the Cossyahs, has been exaggerated; though it is not improbable that, with the advantage of superior arms, and under the direction of intelligent leaders, they might be found capable of supporting their pretensions to military fame. In their ordinary habits, they appear like most savage tribes, to be idle and inactive, throwing all labour upon the women, who not only manage the house affairs, but work in the fields, and perform the duty of porters between the different markets.

So much for the general nature of the country let us now inquire as to the access to it and more especially to Chirra Poonjee. On this head, we have not before us all the information we could wish for the different observers commencing as it were at the foot of Pandua, but not particularising the stages of their progress hither. Thus we learn from Mr. Skipton's report, that he left Berhampore in the latter end of July last, and that after visiting all the various civil and military stations, (within his circle, we presume,) on the Ganges and adjoining rivers, he reached Sylhet in the middle of September. Leaving Sylhet on the 24th of that month, he arrived at Pandua on the 26th, from which place he proceeded to Terriah Ghat by land, the baggage following in small dingbees-the water being shallow even at that season. During the rains, boats of burthen may approach within a mile of Terriah Ghat, at the foot of the Pandua hills, and during the dry season, they can always get to Chattack, six miles from Terriah Ghat. Colonel Tickell, of the Engineers, we learn from one of the documents before us, eleven days in getting up by water in December and January, 1828-29, from Dacca to Chattack: the Soorma river, in some places, becomes very narrow, and not more than forty or fifty yards across -the banks high and steep, covered with strong high reeds, and presenting very difficult tracking ground near the water's edge, which is generally covered until December, when the river is at its lowest. The country on each side, is describ ed as low and swampy, with long grass and reeds, and, of course, thinly inhabited.

Was

The situation of Chirra Poonjee is good, and the scenery beautifully grand, and from its vicinity to the plains, supplies and necessaries are easily obtainable. There is no danger whatever in private parties approaching the hills, for it is but a six hours' ride from Pandua to Chirra. Convalescents and invalids would not get further than from Pandua to Terriah Ghat in their first march-remaining at the latter place all night; consequently, tents ought to be provided

for their reception-though there is a hut for the accommodation of travellers. The dry season therefore is indicated on their account. The ascent up the hills from Terriah Ghat is steep, and there is but little jungle to pass through-and none having pestiferous exhalations. The road, or rather path-way, is formed in many places into steps by stones of various sizes, and leads, with little diviation, straight over the hills. Doolies are required for the weakly and the sickly, but the usual mode of travelling is on hill ponies. On reaching the summit of the hills, the table land of Chirra Poonjee, on which the Sanatarium stands, appears stretched out before the spectator, occupying a circumference of about ten or twelve miles; and beautifully diversified with gentle undulations, and covered with a rich green sward free from jungle or trees of any kind. The landscape is intersected by numerous small rivulets of delicious water, in many places rising out of the earth. This table land is four thousand or four thousand five hundred feet above the plains, and is bounded on the north and the east by deep precipitOus vallies and ravines-towards the south by the plains of Sylhet, and on the west by a small river, which forms a grand cascade of eight hundred or one thousand feet perpendicular.

From the perusal of various documents on the subject, and from coversation also with several gentlemen who had visited the interior of this romantic region. Mr. Skipton comes to the conclusion that, all circumstances considered, the Sanatarium is now very eligibly situated, and could not be removed as yet, with advantage. Hereafter, when many necessary changes may have been effected with reference to the population-the cultivation the facility of access, and an improvement in the feeling of the Natives towards us, a more elevated situation may be selected, having milder weather in the rainy season, and free from mista and fogs.

In respect to supplies:-the water is excellent, the beef is good, and the mutton tolerable. Fish and poultry are always procurable in abundance from the plains, save in the warm weather, when the importation of the former, of course, is affected, as it is difficult to get it up so high in a fresh state; Sheep, however, do not thrive well at Chirra, but goats are plentiful among the Cossy abs, and thrive well. Fat pigs in great abundance may be had at moderate prices. latter, with fish, seem to form the prin cipal articles of food amongst the Natives. Poultry, there is little doubt, would thrive

The

well-but the Chirra folks get their supplies from the plains. Vegetables, as might be expected, were at first scarce; but as several gardens have been cultivat. ed, we may expect to hear of the daily diminution of this inconvenience. Build. ing materials, excepting beams, we beliere, are plentiful, and firewood and charcoal are brought for sale by the Natives in sufficient quantities. Good carriage roads are being constructed in various directions, both by convicts sent from Gowhattee, for the purpose, but chiefly by private subscription; and se veral suspension and other bridges are being constructed both at Chirra and the interior of the hills. At Chirra too, an Europe shop has been lately opened, where wines of all kinds are procurable, at (of course) advanced prices.

Chirra Poonjee, observes Mr Skipton, in his report, dated 26th January, has now had a fair trial as a Sanatory Depot for fifteen months, as on the 6th of October, 1830, thirty-eight Invalid soldiers selected from the Artillery Corps at Dum-Dum joined; of course none of them favourable cases for Medical treatment. Of these,

one shot himself in a fit of temporary derangement, without any known cause besides. One man died from disease totally unconnected with any effects of climate The men were frequently mustered for inspection, and appeared generally to enjoy robust good health. In case other detachments should be sent up, several minutiæ in point of clothing. &c. are pointed out by Mr. Skipton as proper to be adopted. On the whole he thinks the health of the men altogether to be as good as that of the same soldiers, similarly situated, would be in England, and the improved appearance of the convalescents speaks very favourably for the Sanatarium; but the good effects of the climate are more clearly evinced in the regenerated health of the families residing at Chirra. All have found benefit from the change, and the children, without exception, are in the best of health. The air is bracing and invigorating-the heat ranges from 50 to 75, averaging 60 to 75-never disagreeable, and in the mornings and evenings cold, making a fire extremely pleasant. Altogether, Mr. Skipton reports that the climate agrees well with the European constitution, and from his own experience, he entertains no doubt of the great advantage that will be derived from it as a resort for Invalids. The Bazars cannot as yet, be expected to be supplied as they will probably be, when the place acquires something of a permanent nature, and a greater number of inhabitants; but the proximity of the

large station of Sylhet can always supply what is wanted at a short notice.

The soil is generally sandy and poor, but with proper cultivation and_mauur. ing, produces tolerable crops. Potatoes of a fair quality are grown by the Cossyahs in the interior of the hills, and peas are procurable as fine as in Calcuttanotwithstanding that the gardens were suffering from frosty nights, there were peas, carrots, cauliflowers, turnips, and radishes looking well. The Europe fruit trees do not seem to suffer from the cold, and the roses and lupins thrive beautifully in sheltered places. Oranges of delicious flavour, a kind of cherry plumb apples, (only eatable when cooked,) and some other fruits are abundant; also sweet potatoes, and a variety of esculent fruits which Mr. Skipton has not seen elsewhere.

Heavy dense fogs have been mentioned as tending to contravene the healthiness of the climate. Many of those Mr. S. had seen, and had no reason to think they were attended with any further bad effects than letting a damp air into the house (which might be prevented by shutting the glass windows,) or wetting one's clothes if caught outside. They had often the appearance of passing clouds, and did not long continue, the atmosphere soon becoming bright and clear, neither exciting or leaving any species of deleterious miasma. Mr. S. adds, that he has witnessed the same on the Island of St. Helena, where they were never thought unwholesome.

With respect to buildings, excepting the hospital and barracks, the papers be fore us give us no information. Materials, however, being easily procurable, several have been erected, we believe, by private individuals. These are generally com. posed of what is called wattle and dab, thatched with the grass procurable on the spot, or covered with planks or shingles, which the Natives bring in for sale, prepared for immediate use. We under stand them also to be glazed, and to afford, all circumstances considered, very comfortable accommodations.

Respecting the persons most likely to find advantage from a visit to Chirra Poonjee, they may be generally stated as convalescents from liver disease-affections of the spleen, and from dysentery, and all cases of debility, save those of rheumatic and pthisical subjects. For any kind of pulmonary complaint indeed, as far as we have as yet learned, the climate is not indicated.

Amongst the papers read at the last meeting of the Physical Class of the Asiatic Society, (on the 7th February, we believe.) was one of much interest, and which we feel ourselves bound to notice, on more accounts than one; we mean the valuable reports on the Saharunpore Botanic Garden, by Dr. Royle, its late superintendent, who is now proceeding, we understand, to Europe.

We were not present at the meeting, and the friend to whom we owe the remarks, defers, for the present, any on the report itself; we trust, by the by, that it will be forthwith published, for it is but an act of courtesy which the Society owe to so very distinguished a member of their body, that it be so before his departure; but that to which we would direct public attention as guardians of the public interests, is the invaluable collection of facts relative to the Botany, Materia Medica, Zoology, and above all, to the Philosophy of Botany, (the use, in plain English, of Botanical knowledge.) which the MSS. of that gentleman contain, and of which, we grieve to say, only one copy ex. ists, which is to be risked by a voyage home, with all its uncertainties, and all those attached to a single life in the time which may elapse from now till their publication.

We said these MSS. were invaluable, and we repeat our assertion: when we say, that the part relating to the Materia Medica alone, Botanical as well as Mineral, contains a list of many thousands of plants and drugs, with their native and Botanical names and descriptions carefully noted, their uses, and many other valuable particulars, down even to the references to and comparative descriptions and synonyma from the Greek authors, such as Dioscorides and others, showing thus the early connection of the Arabic and Persian Medicine with that of the Greeks; when to all this we add tables of the native Materia Medica, arranged according to their uses, valuable notes on the commercial properties of every article in the bazars, list of the gums, resins, fixed-oils,-in short a mass of information on every subject which could possibly come within the scope of the establishment, such as only the most

able and indefatigable inquirer could collect in the space of many years, joined to much more which, though foreign to it, is knowledge of the most valuable kind, and attests the unwearied activity of mind which could embrace so much, and so well execute it; when we add all this, we say we are yet assured that much remain to be enumerated!

Our Indian apathy, which is often enough but another term for the sense of uncertainty which besets every European who encamps in India, has, we fear, done often more, and worse than to make us indifferent to what is around us; it has ended, by making us, passively at least, art and part' in the burial of the labours of those whose energy has risen above the obstacles which surround us, sufficiently to produce some useful record of what they had learnt; in a word, when one reflects on the subject, we almost appear to have been ignorant of the art of writing, as far as the transmission of knowledge in many pursuits from one flight' of us to another is concerned; every man who lands now has, within a trifle, to go through and to pay for, either in purse or in time, the same routine of tediously-acquired experience, in almost all our pursuits, as his predecessor thirty years ago had; with some few exceptions, and these are meagre enough, the knowledge of every man appears to die or be carried home with him; we trust this state of things will be corrected now, and, but that our observations have already, perhaps, led us too far, we would say more on the subject.

To return to Dr. Royle's papers, we say then, that such knowledge is public property, the property of mankind; that it is very far too valuable to be exposed to any risk which can be so easily guarded against, and we do most sincerely trust that the Physical Class, and the Medical and Physical Society will take means to have duplicates of these valuable MSS. taken, and duly preserved as records so interesting to science and to humanity should be.

A very numerous meeting of the Asiatic Society was held at their rooms on Wednesday, the 7th March, at which the Hon'ble Sir Charles Grey, President,

Sir Edward Ryan, Vice President, and many other gentlemen of rank and talent, both European and Native, were present. The attraction of the evening was the unrivalled collection of Dr. Royle, who, with the greatest liberality, and at infinite trouble to himself, had kindly condescended to gratify the Society, before his departure for Europe, with the sight of such portions of it as could be conveniently exhibited, and with a paper comprising a hurried precis of his researches, the reading of which was a comment on the numerous specimens and drawings with which the immense table was covered-we had nearly said the room filled.

Never, perhaps, in scientific matters at least, and certainly never in India, was the homely adage of "silent streams run deep" so strikingly verified as in looking round on these noble results of one man's silent labours for a few years only in the vast and yet almost untrodden domain of Indian scientific researches. "I offer to the Society a few remarks on the collections which I have made at a distance, in silence—and alone" were, if we caught the words correctly, the modest expressions of the opening of the paper. And we had heard a most talented Native, but a few minutes before the opening of the sitting, exclaim, holding up his hands in astonishment"this, sir, must be the work of ten gentlemen's lives; no one man can do so much!" No comment of ours could add

to this.

We have not been able to obtain a sight of the paper, or we should be tempted to give some analysis of its contents: but we are enabled to state, if our hurried notes have not misled us, that the collections comprise upwards of thirty thousand specimens of about four thousand species of plants, amongst which are very many new genera; two hundred and thirty-three specimens, of birds, skins, and bones of the Mammalia; rep. tiles; cabinets of insects; geological and mineralogical specimens from the plains to the peaks of the Himalaya, so numerous as to form complete sections of the country; fossil bones from great elevations, singularly beautiful; and dis. tinct impressions of plants, from the coal mines of Burdwan; and, as we were informed, upwards of 400 splendid draw ings of the rarer plants, are the princi

pal features of this invaluable collection, to which we should not omit to add the MSS., to which we alluded on a former occasion, which alone are more valuable than even the specimens.

The paper, we would, as we have be. fore said, fain descant upon, but as we are somewhat pressed for time, and still more for space, we hasten to notice the conclusion of the meeting, which we thought of high interest to the true friends of science. When Dr. Royle had concluded his paper, the learned President rose, and in a most able and impressive address, in which the principal points of interest in the paper were skilfully touched upon, and an eloquent tribute paid to the talented naturalist, whose treasures were thus displayed, stated, what we are sure was the feeling of every individual present, "that the Society could not content itself with pass. ing an ordinary and a common place vote of thanks on such an occasion," and concluded with requesting, that any mode might be suggested, if such occurred to the meeting, by which they could more particularly testify the sense which they entertained of Dr. Royle's merits. This was happily done, (we believe by the Secretary to the Physical Class,) who proposed, that a public letter should be addressed by the Society to the Court of Directors, soliciting their special patronage of Dr. Royle's labours, and the proposal was carried nem con, to the heartfelt delight, we venture to say, not only of every one who was present, but to that of every friend to science in India.

This is as it should be ; and we do most heartily exhort the Asiatic Society to continue on the course which they have thus so nobly began ; to rouse themselves from the deadly apathy which seems so long to have beset them, and to stand forward, as they ought to do, the patrons of talent and industry, wherever they be found; and whenever the influence of the Society can be exerted to forward the interests of science, to use it at once, and heartily, and they may be assured that in so doing they will best fulfil the intentions of their illustrious founder. We trust our contemporaries, too, will aid us in reminding them of this duty in future-for ourselves we promise them that, if they again go to sleep, Inshal lah! we will flap them.