HADHr1PUR
233 .
the Nepal frontier. It was constituted a municipality in 1869. The
income during the decade ending 1901-2 averaged Rs. 16,ooo, and
the expenditure Rs. 12,000. In 1903-4 the income was Rs. 18,000,
mainly derived from a tax on persons (or property tax) and the receipts
from municipal markets; and the expenditure was Rs. 16,000. The
town contains the usual public offices; the sub-jail has accommodation
for 14 prisoners.
Madhumati.-One of the principal distributaries of the GANGES
in Bengal and Eastern Bengal and Assam, which leaves the parent
stream near Kushtia, in Nadia District, in 23° 55' N. and 89° 9' E.,
where it is called the GARAL Thence flowing south it assumes the
name of Madhumati. It enters Backergunge District near the north-
west corner at Gopalganj ; and from this point it takes the name of
Baleswar, and forms the western boundary of the District, still flowing
south, but with great windings in its upper reaches. It then crosses
the Sundarbans, separating the Khulna from the Backergunge portion
of that tract, and enters the Bay of Bengal, after a course of 230 miles,
in 21° 52' N. and 89° 59' E., under the name of Haringhata, forming
a fine deep estuary g miles broad. The river is navigable to opposite
MORRELGANJ in the District of Khulna by sea-going ships, and
throughout, its entire course by native boats of the largest tonnage.
Although there is a bar at the mouth of the Haringhata with only
17 feet of water at low tide, the navigation is easier than that of any
other river at the head of the Bay of Bengal. The great banks or
shoals which have formed at each side of the `mouth and which extend
seaward for several miles protect the entrance, and act as breakwaters
to the swell. The river is not disturbed by the `bore,' which visits
the Hooghly and the Meghna, and it is also free from mid-channel
dangers. Among its chief tributaries are the Kacha in Backergunge ;
the Kalia or Gangni river, which receives a portion of the waters of
the Nabaganga through the Bankarnali in Jessore ; and the BHAIRAB
in Khulna.
Madhupur.-An extensive jungle, known also as the `Garh Gazali,'
in Eastern Bengal and Assam, stretching northwards from the northern
part of Dacca into the heart of Mymensingh District, almost as far as
the town of Nasirabad. The tract is slightly elevated, averaging about
40 feet above the level of the s rounding plain, with small hills
nowhere exceeding 100 feet in height. It belongs to an older allu- ,
vial ,formation than the rest of the'country, and consists of a stiff layer
of red ferruginous clay of a considerable depth, resembling that of the
Barind in North Bengal. It is coveted with a dense forest of tall trees
overrun with creepers, with numerous large grasses at their base. The
forest is similar in composition to that under the Himalayan range,
containing a mixture of Leguminosae, Combretaceae, Anacardiaceae,
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