an extensive district in the province of Bengal, formerly called Saatgong, situated principally between the 22d and 23d degrees of north latitude, and extending a considerable distance along the right bank of the River Hooghly. It is bounded on the N. by the district of Burdwan, on the S. by the district of Hijdelee, on the E. by the River Hooghly, and on the W. by Midnapoor. This district consists of low flat land, very fertile; but that part which is nearest to the sea is very thinly inhabited; it is called the Sunderbund, is swampy, covered with wood, and remarkably unhealthy. It is intersected in every direction by rivers and their branches, which afford great facilities for internal navigation. Along the shores of the ocean salt of an excellent quality is manufactured on account of the government. The area, according to official return, is 2089 square miles. The population is given at 1,520,840, an amount which, compared with the area, indicates an extraordinary density of 728 to the square mile, and it is nevertheless considered that the numbers of the people are steadily on the increase. The French settlement of Chander-nagore is situate within the limits of the district, as are also Chinsura and Serampore, now British possessions, but formerly belonging the first to the Dutch and the latter to the Danes. The right of the East India Company to the district originated in the treaty concluded with Meer Cos-sin in 1760.

an ancient, and formerly a large town in the province of Bengal, situated on the western bank of the Hooghly, nearly 26 miles above Calcutta, and supposed to have been founded by the Portuguese about the year 1538. During the Mogul government, it was a town of great consequence, being the port of the western arm of the Ganges, where the duties on merchandise were collected. It very soon drew away all the trade from Saatgong, which had been before the government port of Bengal. During the prevalence of the Portuguese dominion in India, Hooghly was fortified, and continued to flourish till the year 1632, when it was attacked by order of the Emperor Shah Jehan, and, after a siege of three months and a half, was taken by the Mogul troops, 1000 of the Portuguese being killed, and 4400 men, women, and children taken prisoners. From this period Hooghly became the imperial port. All the officers of the government were ordered to remove thither, and it was placed under the jurisdiction of a special governor. In the year 1676 the English, and soon afterwards the Dutch, obtained the permission of the native government to erect factories. After this period, every encouragement was given to commerce; and Hooghly, which was called Bukshy Bunder, became a great commercial emporium between Europe, Persia, Arabia, and India. In 1686 hostilities commenced between the English and the Nawabu. An action ensued, in which the Nawabu's troops were defeated; and at the same time the town of Hooghly was cannonaded, and five hundred houses burned. In 1700 the East India Company's factory was transferred from Hooghly to Calcutta. The population of Hooghly is now estimated at 12,000. The town is situate on the line of railroad recently constructed from Calcutta to Burdwan. E. Long. 88° 22', N. Lat. 22° 54'.

Hooghly River, properly the Bhagirutty, a river of Bengal, formed by the junction of the two westernmost branches of the Ganges, the Cossimbazar, and the Jellingshy. This is the port of Calcutta, being the only branch of the Ganges that is navigated by large vessels; yet the entrance to the river is rendered extremely dangerous and difficult, by reason of numerous sandbanks in it, which are frequently shifting. There is indeed a rumour afloat that the river is gradually silting up, and must eventually cease to be navigable. This would prove a fearful blow to the trade of Calcutta, and the proposed remedy is to connect the River Mutwal with the capital by railway or ship canal. During the prevalence of the S.W. monsoon, when a strong current sets in from the Bay of Bengal, the extraordinary phenomenon, termed by Europeans the "Bore," occasionally presents itself. It rises in waves 12 or 15 feet high, and rushes on at the rate of 20 miles an hour. It commences at Hooghly Point, where the river first contracts itself, and is perceptible above Hooghly town; and though the distance is above 70 miles, it traverses this space in about four hours, running along the opposite bank to the Calcutta side, whence it crosses at Chipoor, about 4 miles above Fort William, and rushes with great violence past Barnagore, Duddingstow, &c., frequently oversetting boats and driving ships from their anchorage. At Calcutta it sometimes occasions an instantaneous rise of 5 feet. The tide does not rise more than 30 miles above Calcutta; and during the rainy season its influence is checked by the large body of water that comes down the river. The Hooghly contains several kinds of good fish, particularly Cyprius Anjana, the mango fish, or Polyemus paradoxus, and prawns; and it abounds also in crocodiles and sharks. It is about three-quarters of a mile broad at Calcutta, and 8 or 10 miles wide at the mouth. It is only navi- gable for ships as high as the tide reaches, and the upper part of it is nearly dry during the hot season; yet there are few rivers that can boast of a more extensive commerce, its banks being studded with numerous towns and villages. It is esteemed by the Hindustan to be the most sacred branch of the Ganges, and it is on this account that those who cannot afford to bury their dead throw them into the Hooghly.