Pegu, Siam, Malacca, Cambodia, Cochin-China, Laos, Tonquin : all of which have capitals of the fame name, except the first and the three last. The capital of Achem is Chamdara; of Cochin

name of the Woods or Sunderbunds, is in extent equal to the principality of Wales; and is enveloped in woods, and infefted with tygers. Here falt, in quantities equal to the confumption of Bengal and its dependencies, is made and tranfported with equal facility; and here alfo is found an inexhauftible ftore of timber for boat building. But the falt-makers and wood-cutters exercise their trade at the con ftant hazard of their lives: for the tygers not only appear on the margin in queft of prey, but often, in the night-time, fwim to the boats that lie at anchor in the middle of the river. The breadth of the lower part of the delta is upwards of 180 miles; to which if we add that of the two branches of the river that bound it, we shall have about 2co miles for the distance to which the Ganges expands its branches, at its junction with the fea. The declivity of the plain from Hurdware to the fea, although not perceptible to the eye, is about nine inches a mile; but the windings of the river reduce the declivity on which the water runs, to lefs than four inches a-mile. The motion of the ftream at a medium is less than three miles an hour in the dry months. There is commonly on one fide of the river an almott perpendicular bank, tore or less elevated above the stream, according to the feafon, with deep water near it, and on the oppofite fide a bank, shelving away to gradually, as to occafion fhallow water at fome diftance from the margin. This is occafioned by the winding courfe of the ftream; and the winding is caufed by the nature of the foil through which it runs. Some of the Bengal rivers have entirely changed their courfe, and the bed of the Ganges is fuppofed to have been formerly in a different track from what it is in at pre

lent.

The fwelling and overflowing of the Ganges is owing partly to the rains which fall in the mountains near its fource, and partly to thofe which fall in the plains. The former begin in April: and the Ganges rifes fifteen feet and a half out of thirtytwo feet, the fum total of its rifing, by the latter end of June, when the rainy feafon in most of the flat countries only begins. As the ground adjacent to the river-bank, to the extent of fome miles, is confiderably higher than the rest of the country, owing to the fucceffive accumulation of mud depofited by the waters of the river when it overflows; the lands in general are overflowed to a confiderable height, long before the bed of the river is filled. Thus the waters of the inundation are feparated from those of the river, ustil it overflows; and even then the river still shews itself, as well by the grafs and reeds on its banks, as by its rapid and muddy ftream. For the water of the inundation has a blackish hue, which it acquires by having been fo long stagnant among grafs and other vegetables; and moves at a flow rate, (not above half a mile an hour,) in comparison of the ftream of the river, which at this feafon runs at the rate of five or fix miles an hour. The inundation is nearly at a ftand for fome days preceding the middle of Auguft; and after that gradually dimi nishes, owing to the cellation of the rains in the mountains, although it continues to rain in the low grounds, during the months of Auguit and September. After the beginning of October, when the rain has nearly ceafed, the remainder of the inundation goes off quickly by evaporation, leaving the lands highly manured, and in a ftate fit to receive the feed by the fimple operation of ploughing. The inundation of the Ganges rifes to different heights in different parts of its courfe, and in its different branches; thus at jellinghy it rifes 32 feet, but at Dacca only about 14 feet. -In certain tracks large dikes or dams have been raised at an enor mous expence, to prevent the inundation from rifing to its ufual height in particular grounds, which would be hurt by too much moisture. During the fwoln fate of the river, the tide totally lofes its effect of counteracting the ftream: and in a

Cochin-China, Theanon; of Laos, Lanchang; and of Tonquin, Cachao or Keccio. But the Europeans are very little acquainted with the most of these countries.

A ridge of mountains, running from north to fouth, divides this peninfula in the fame manner as the former.

V. CHINA is about 1440 miles long, and 1260 broad; between 20 and 42 deg. N. lat. and 98 and 123 deg. E. lon. It is fuppofed to contain 50 millions of inhabitants. It is a level country, except towards the north; and has numerous canals of great depth, fome of them 1000 miles long. The great wall which feparates China from Tartary is faid to be 1500 miles long; from 20 to 25 feet high; fo broad that five or fix horsemen may ride abreast; defended by towers at small diftances; carried over mountains and vallies. It is faid to have ftood 1800 years.

The principal cities are, PEKIN, the capital, faid to contain two millions of inhabitants; NANKIN, thought to be still larger; and Canton +.

VI. TARTARY comprehends more than one half of Afia. It is faid to be 4000 miles long, and 2400 broad; between 50 and 150 deg. E. lon. and 30 and 70 deg. N. lat. It is divided into three parts.

1. CHINESE TARTARY.Its capital, Chynian.

2. RUSSIAN TARTARY or SIBERIA.Its capital, ToBOLSKI.—This divifion comprehends the country of the Samoedes and Offiaks along the frozen ocean; Kamschatka and Jakutfkci, on the north-east, &c.

great measure that of ebbing and flowing, except very near the fea. Sometimes a strong wind blowing against the current of the river makes the periodical flood rife to an uncommon height. By this accident, the inhabitants of a confiderable diftrict at Luckipour, about 50 miles from the fea, were, with their houses and cattle, totally swept away in 1763.

There is a river equal if not fuperior to the Ganges, called BURRAMPOOTER, which joins the eastern branch of the Ganges below Luckipour, about 40 miles from the fea, and produces one of the largest bodies of running water in the world. The Burrampooter, till the year 1765, was unknown in Europe. It has its fource from the eastern fide of the fame mountains that give rife to the Ganges. During a courfe of 400 mides through Bengal, it is fo fimilar to the Ganges, that the fame defcription nearly answers both; only the Burrampooter, for the latt 60 miles before its junction with the Ganges, is regularly from four to five miles wide. After its junction with the Ganges, they both affume the name of MEGNA, although the Megna be a much fmaller river. In Thibet it is called Sanpoo or Zanciu, which there has the fame meaning with Ganga in Indoftan, THE RIVER. Where it first changes its name to Burramposter, is uncertain.

* In the account of the British embassy to China, the number of inhabitants is faid to be above a hundred millions.

+ Canton is faid to contain above a million of inhabitants. The number of thofe who are obliged to live on the water in boats amounts to near three hundred thousand. Colligny's Voyage to Canton.

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The Calmuck Tartars, north of the Cafpian fea, and the Circaffian Tartars, whose capital is Afracan, on the Wolga, also acknowledge themfelves fubject to Ruffia.

3. INDEPENDENT TARTARY, or the nations which are governed by chiefs or chans of their own, and acknowledge no fuperior. These are now but few; the MOGUL or MONGUL TARTARS, on the confines of China; the kingdom of THIBEt, its capital Patala, near which, on the top of a high mountain, their Dalai-Lama, or high-priest, refides; the USBEC TARTARS, whofe capital is SAMARČAND, the city of Tamerlane; but part of them are tributary to Perfia: the TURKINSTAN TARTARS, north of the Cafpian Sea.

The limits of these countries are very uncertain. The Tartars in general lead a wandering life, attending their flocks and herds, like their ancestors the Scythians.

The ISLANDS of Asia.

The LADRONE iflands, E. lon. 140. deg. N. lat. 14. deg.; about 12 in number. The chief are, Guam; and Tinian, on which Anfon landed.

The islands of JAPAN, which form an empire. The Japanese fuffer no nation to trade with them but the Chinese and Dutch; and even these under hard restrictions.

The PHILIPPINE islands, about 1200 in number, belonging to Spain, firft difcovered by Magellan, who was flain in a fkirmifh with the natives, 1521. The chief of them is Manila or Luconia.

FORMOSA, on the east of China; and AINAN, in the gulph of Cochin-China, both belonging to the Chinese.

The MOLUCCA or SPICE iflands, five in number, fubject to the Dutch.

The BANDA or NUTMEG islands, fouth of the former, likewife belonging to the Dutch.

The islands betwixt Borneo and the Spice iflands, CELEBES or Macaffar, Amboyna, &c. alfo fubject to the Dutch.

The SUNDA iflands; 1. BORNEO, one of the largest islands in the world, faid to be 800 miles long, and 700 broad; in the poffeffion of the natives, who trade with all nations. 2. SUMATRA, 1000 miles long, and 100 broad; abounding in gold and emeralds, and therefore fuppofed by fome to be the Ophir mentioned in Scripture. The English have fettlements here at Bencoolen and Fort Marlborough; the Dutch at Achen and Palamban. 3. JAVA. The chief towns are, Bantam, and BATAVIA, the capital of the Dutch fettlements in India.

The