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22 sea near the head of the Gulf of Kambay. The streams which, rising in the Sdhyddri range, or Western Ghats, flow westward into the Arabian Sea, are of little importance. During the rains they are formidable torrents, but with the return of the fair weather they dwindle away, and during the hot season, with a few exceptions, they almost dry up. Clear and rapid as they descend the hills, on reaching the lowlands of the Koiikan they become muddy and brackish creeks. The Kanarese rivers have a larger body of water and a more regular flow than the streams of the Konkan. One of them, the Sherawati, forcing its way through the western ridge of the Ghats, plunges from the high to the low country by a succession of falls, the principal of which is 890 feet in height. The Sdhyddri, or Western _ Ghats, also throw .off to the eastward the two principal rivers of the Madras Presidency, the Godavari and the Krishna. These rivers collect countless tributary streams, some of them of considerable size, and drain the entire plain of the Dakhin as they pass eastward towards the Bay of Bengal.

Lakes.—The Manchar Lake is situated on the right bank of the Indus. During inundations it attains a length of 20 miles, and a breadth of 10, covering a total area estimated at 180 square miles. But the most peculiar lacustrine feature of the Presidency is the Rann or Lake of Kachh (Outch), which, according to the season of the year, is a salt marsh, an inland lake, or an arm of the sea. Its area is esti mated at 8000 square miles. It forms the western bound ary of the province of Gujarat, and when flooded during the rains, unites the Gulfs of Kachh (Cutch) and Kambay, and converts the territory of Kachh into an island. In the dry season the soil is impregnated with salt, the surface in some places being moist and muddy, and in others, like a dry river bed or sea-beach, strewn with gravel or shingle. The Rann is now used as the great source of salt supply for the whole Presidency. Its present condition is pro bably the result of some natural convulsion. But whether the Rann is an arm of the sea from which the waters have receded, or an inland lake whose seaward barrier has been swept away, still remains a matter of discussion.

Climate.—Great varieties of climate are met with in the Presidency. In its extreme dryness and heat, combined with the aridity of a sandy soil, Upper Sindh resembles the sultry deserts of Africa. The mean maximum tempera ture at Haidarabad, in Lower Sindh, during the six hottest months of the year, is 98 5 in the shade, and the water of the Indus reaches blood heat ; in Upper Sindh it is even hotter, and the thermometer has been known to register 1 30 in the shade. In Kachh and in Gujardt the heat, though less, is still very great. The Konkan is hot and moist, the fall of rain during the monsoon sometimes approaching 300 inches. The table-land of the Dakhin above the Ghdts, on the contrary, has an agreeable climate except in the hot months, as has also the southern Mar- hatta country; and in the hills of Mahdbaleshwar, Singarh, and other detached heights, Europeans may go out at all hours with impunity. Bombay Island itself, though in general cooled by the sea breeze, is oppressively hot during May and October. The south-west monsoon generally sets in about the first week in June, and pours down volumes of rain along the coast. From June to October travelling is difficult and unpleasant, except in Sindh, where the monsoon rains exert little influence. {{ti|1em|Forests.—Bombay Presidency possesses two great classes of forests those of the hills and those of the alluvial plains. The hill forests are scattered over a wide area, extending from 23 to H N. lat. Most of them lie among the Sdhyddri hills or Western Ghdts. The alluvial forests lie in Sindh, on or close to the banks of the Indus, and extend over an area of 550 square miles. The principal timber trees in the forests arc teak ; black wood of two varieties (Dalbergia Sisu and Dalberyia latifolia), Dalbergia iijain- ensis, Pterocarpus Marsupium, Terminalm glabra, Acacia arabica, Acacia Catechu, Nauclea cordifolia, Naudeaparvi- folia, Bidelia spinosa, Hardwickia binata, Jug a xylocarpa, Populus euphratica, and Tamarix indica. The forests contain many trees which, on account of their fruits, nuts, or berries, are valuable, irrespective of the quality of their timber. Among these are the mango (Mangifera indica) ; the jack (Artocarpus integrifolia}, Zizyplius Jvjuba, JEgle Marmelos, Terminalia Chebula, Calophyllum Inophyllum, Bassia latifolia, and Pongamia glabra. The jungle tribes collect gum from several varieties of trees, and in Sindh the Forest Department derives a small revenue from lac. The palms of the Presidency consist of cocoa-nut, date, palmyra, and areca catechu.}}

Geology.—Geologically the Bombay Presidency is divided into two tracts : the north-western part, consisting of Sindh, Kachh (Cutch), and Gujardt; and the south-western, comprising the Marhatta country. Undulating sandy plains, with scattered craggy hills, are found in Gujardt ; the im mense alluvial flats to the north being, for the most part, deserts of blown sand, and the fertile country consisting of a belt along the borders of the sea. In Sindh, the country, except on the banks of the Indus, or where reclaimed by irrigation, is an arid tract of gravel and sand, from which rise steep scarps of limestone ranges. The rocks of Guja rdt, Kachh, and Sindh, are only partially represented in the more southern peninsula, and are continuous with the formations found in Persia and Arabia. In the Marhattd country the greater portion of the surface is composed of nearly horizontal strata of basalt and similar rocks.

.—The census of 1872 returns the total area of the Presidency, including Sindh, at 188,195 square miles, and the total population at 25,624,696 souls. Details, however, are only available for the British part of the Presidency, which contains an area of 124,943 square miles, and a total population of 16,352,623 souls. The average density of population in the British districts is 131 persons per square mile, but it varies from a maxi mum of 29,291 13 in Bombay city to 14 20 in Thar and Pdrkar. Total number of houses in the British districts, 2,164,338 ; and average number of persons per house, 4 99. Of the total population of the British portion, 12,440,659, or 76-08 per cent., are Hindus; 2,847,756, or 17 4 pel cent., Muhammadans; 192,245, or 1 17 per cent., Budd hists; 106,133, or 0-65 per cent., Christians; 67,115, or 0-41 per cent., Pdrsis ; 603,836, or 3 69 per cent., abori gines; and 94,879, or 5S percent., of unspecified religion or nationality. The males number 8,547,100, or 52 per cent, of the population; the females, 7,805,523, or 48 per cent. The percentage of the total number of children under twelve years of age is 31 6 5. The Hindus are most numerous in Satara, and fewest in the Upper Sindh Frontier district. The Muhammadans form nearly the whole population of Sindh, and are least numerous in the Pdnch Mahals. Except in Sindh, the Buddhists are widely scattered throughout the whole Presidency. The Christians are chiefly confined to Bombay city, Tdnnd, the Indo-Portuguese possessions, and the larger cantonments, such as Puna. The British districts of the Presidency contain upwards of 26,800 villages, and 175 towns of upwards of 5000 inhabitants. Besides Bombay city, there are 213 municipalities established under Act 26 of 1850. Of these, 4 have an income of over 10,000; 27 of over 1000; 22 of over 500; 94 of over 100; and 66 of under 100. Exclusive of the town of Bombay, the total muni cipal revenue realised in 1872-73 amounted to 198,857. Average rate of municipal taxation, 2s. l^d. per head of the town population. The principal sources of municipal 