a district of Bengal, in the province of Orissa, containing an area of 6102 square miles, and about a million and a half of inhabitants. The bulk of the people are Hindus, but there is a greater proportion of Mahomedans than in most other parts of India. Two thirds of this extensive district consists of a jungle swarming with noxious animals, and exceedingly unhealthy, although the land is rich and fertile. This district was formerly ceded to the East India Company in 1761. Having been long the scene of warfare between the Afghans, Moguls, and Mahrattas, it contains a great number of small forts, which serve as a refuge for robbers, from which they frequently annoy the inhabitants. The country produces abundance of grain, sugar, tobacco, cotton, and indigo. Its principal towns are Midnapore, Jellasaore, Piply, and Narraingur. Midnapore, the capital, formerly possessed a fort, which has been converted into a criminal prison. It is seventy miles west by south from Calcutta. Long. 87. 25. E. Lat. 22. 25. N.