the nuts of a similar plant abounding in the tertiary formations at
the mouth of the Thames, and having floated about there in as great
profusion as here, till buried deep in the silt and mud that now forms
the island of Sheppey.* [Bowerbank "On the Fossil Fruits and Seeds of
the Isle of Sheppey," and Lyell's "Elements of Geology," 3rd ed. p.
201.]

Higher up, the river Hoogly is entered, and large trees, with
villages and cultivation, replace the sandy spits and marshy jungles
of the great Gangetic delta. A few miles below Calcutta, the scenery
becomes beautiful, beginning with the Botanic Garden, once the
residence of Roxburgh and Wallich, and now of Falconer,--classical
ground to the naturalist. Opposite are the gardens of Sir Lawrence
Peel; unrivalled in India for their beauty and cultivation, and
fairly entitled to be called the Chatsworth of Bengal. A little
higher up, Calcutta opened out, with the batteries of Fort William in
the foreground, thundering forth a salute, and in a few minutes more
all other thoughts were absorbed in watching the splendour of the
arrangements made for the reception of the Governor-General of India.

During my short stay in Calcutta, I was principally occupied in
preparing for an excursion with Mr. Williams of the Geological
Survey, who was about to move his camp from the Damooda valley
coal-fields, near Burdwan, to Beejaghur on the banks of the Soane,
where coal was reported to exist, in the immediate vicinity of
water-carriage, the great desideratum of the Burdwan fields.

My time was spent partly at Government-House, and partly at Sir
Lawrence Peel's residence. The former I was kindly invited to
consider as my Indian home, an honour which I appreciate the more