DINANT. and Malda; W. by Purneah; and N. by the British territory of Darjeeling. It extends from Lat. 24. 53. to 26. 38., and from Long. 88. 2. to 89. 16. Area 3820 square miles. This district possesses a soil much diversified; and the face of the country has a wavy appearance, being divided into small valleys, each about two or three miles broad. Besides the Pernabubah already mentioned, the principal rivers are the Teesta, Attree, Jabuna, and Curateca. The district is moreover intersected by numerous smaller streams, which in the rainy season overflow the low lands, and swell into large lakes fifty or sixty miles in length, which, while the Ganges is in flood, have no outlet; and thus are so much increased as to be navigable for vessels of considerable burden. After the inundation these low lands become covered with a luxuriant pasture, on which are fed numerous buffaloes, and large herds of other cattle; or with rich crops of rice, which is the great staple of agriculture; besides tobacco, indigo, and hemp. The land does not answer for wheat or barley. The soil of the elevated portions of the country is in general a stiff clay, in some places black and porous, in others stiff and tenacious. Many sorts of fibrous plants for cordage and sackcloth are sown in April, May, and June. Several sorts of pulse are also sown at the commencement of the cold season; and, where the soil is good, the sugar cane is planted in February and March. The inhabitants are in general extremely poor, and their farming utensils are proportionally rude. They are in the proportion of seven Mussulmans to three Hindus. Among both marriages take place at a premature age; the effects of which are stated to be manifested in the deterioration of the inhabitants, who are described as a weak and puny race. The population has been estimated at 1,200,000. Dinagore constituted one of the provinces of the empire of Delhi, and was transferred with the remainder of Bengal to the East India Company in 1765, by the grant of the emperor Shah Alum. The town of Dinagore is in Lat. 25. 34., Long. 88. 38. (E. T.)