Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 3.djvu/645

Rh BHAMÓ, or (in Chinese, ), a city of Upper Burmah, situated in 24 16 N. lat. and 95 54 47&quot; E. long., on the left bank of the Irawady, a short distance beluw its confluence with the Tapeng, and about 300 miles up the river from Mandalay the capital. It was formerly a very flourishing city, and the chief town of a Shan prin cipality ; and though greatly decayed, it is still the seat of a Burmese governor and the centre of a considerable trade. At the time of Dr John Anderson s visit in the year 18G8 (Expedition to Western Yunnan, 1871), it consisted of about 500 houses of sun-burnt brick, and had an estimated population of 2500, partly Shans and partly Chinese. The latter possess a temple and theatre, and there were remains of ancient pagodas and other buildings. In the neighbourhood are ruins of two cities, called Tsam- penago, both of considerable extent. Special attention has been directed to Bhamo as an important position for the development of commerce between British India and Western Yunnan, no fewer than four practicable routes leading eastward from the city to Momein.  BHANDÁRÁ, a district of British India, under the jurisdiction of the Chief Commissioner of the Central Provinces, situated between 20 and 22 N. lat., and 79 and 81 E. long. It is bounded on the N. by the districts of Seoni and Balaghat, on the E. by the district of Raipur, on the S. by the district of ChdndA, and on the W. by the district of Nagpur. To the north, north-east, and east, a natural boundary line is marked out by lofty hills, inhabited by Gonds and other aboriginal tribes, while the west and north-west are comparatively open. Small branches of the Satpurd range make their way into the interior of the district. The Atnbagarh, or Sendurjhari hills, which skirt the south of the Chandpur pargana, have an average height of between 300 and 400 feet above the level of the plain. The other elevated tracts are the Balahi hills, the Kanheri hills, and the Nawegaon hills. The Wainganga is the principal river in the district, and the only stream that does not dry up in the hot weather, its affluents within the district being the Bawanthari, Baghnadi, Kanhan, and Chulban. There are 3648 small lakes and tanks in Bhandard district, whence it is called the &quot; lake region of Nagpur ; &quot; they afford ample means of irrigation. More than one-third of the district lies under jungle, which yields gum, medicinal fruits and nuts, edible fruits, lac, honey, and the blossoms of the mahud tree (Bassia latifolia) ,vhich are eaten by the poorer classes, and used for the manu facture of a kind of spirit. Tigers, panthers, deer, wild hogs, and other wild animals abound in the forests, and during the rainy season many deaths occur from snake-bites.

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, the principal town and headquarters of the district of the same name, is situated on the Waingangd, about 38 miles east of Nagpur. The town is kept neat and clean, is well drained, and is considered healthy. In 1872 it contained a total population of 11,433 souls, of whom 9657 were Hindus, 1450 Mahometans, 58 Bud dhists and Jains, 54 Christians, and 214 of unspecified religion. For income, &c., see above. The town enjoys a considerable trade in cotton cloth and the local hardware.  BHANG, an East Indian name for the hemp plant, Cannabis sativa. but applied specially to the leaves dried and prepared for use as a narcotic drug. The hemp plant, as cultivated in the Bengal Presidency and the North- West Provinces, yields a peculiar resinous exudation, which is altogether wanting in the hemp grown on account of its fibre in European countries. For this resinous exudation, in which its virtues as a drug reside, hemp is cultivated in Kashmir, Bokhara, Yarkand, and Central Asia generally, besides North India, and in certain parts of East Africa, where, according to Captain Burton, it is grown &quot; before every cottage door.&quot; In India the products of the plant for use as a narcotic and intoxicant are recognized under the three names and forms of Bhang, Gunja or Ganja, and Churrus or Charas. Bhang consists of the larger leaves and capsules of the plant on which an effloresence of resinous matter has occurred. The leaves are in broken and partly agglutinated pieces, having a dark-green colour and a heavy but not unpleasant smell. Bhang is used in India for smoking, with or without tobacco ; it is prepared in the form of a cake or manjan, and it is made into an intoxicating beverage by infusing in cold water and strain ing. Gunja is the flowering or fruit-bearing tops of the female plants. It is gathered in stalks of several inches in length, the tops of which form a matted mass, from the agglutination of flowers, seeds, and leaflets by the abundant resinous exudation which, coats them. Churrus is the resinous substance separated from the plant. According to Dr O Shaughnessy it is obtained by men dressed^in leathern aprons brushing forcibly through the growing stalks, and the resin which thereby adheres to the leather is scraped off with knives. It is stated that in Nepal the 