1 Bombay. CHAP. XIV. Bombay-its insular Situation-Former Unhealthiness- Walks-Inhabitants-Malabar Hill. 1805. ALTHOUGH the Malabar coast formerly presentAugust. ed a number of very considerable settlements, yet as Bombay is now almost the only place where European ships touch, I shall pass over places of inferior note, in order to present the young voyager with a topographical sketch of that presidency, and likewise a description of Elephanta and Salsette. The island of Bombay, situated in the nineteenth parallel of north latitude, on the Deccan coast, takes its name from the Portuguese Buon Bahia, on account of the excellent bay formed by it and the adjacent isles. The harbour, which is so spacious as to contain almost any number of ships, affords good anchorage, and is completely land-locked, and sheltered from storms. The island which was formerly so unhealthy as to procure it the appellation of the English Burying Ground, is now so far improved in this respect, as to be equally salubrious as other parts of India under the same parallel of latitude. Mr. Grose enumerates the following causes of its former unhealthiness and subsequent improve ment: Causes of its former Unhealthiness. 1st. The nature of the climate, and the mode 1805. of guarding against its effects, being less under- August. stood than they are at present. 2dly. The putrid effluvia arising from a small fry of fish formerly employed as manure for the cocoa-trees; though this has been doubted by some, as the putrid effluvia of animal bodies seems to be effectually absorbed by the earth. All agree, however, that the habitations in the woods, or cocoa-nut groves, are very unwholesome, on account of the moisture and want of free circulation of air. For the late superior healthiness of the island the following cause is assigned: viz. the lessening the waters, by banking a breach of the sea. This Mr. Grose seems to doubt, as there is still, says he, a great body of salt water on the inside of the breach, the communication of which with the ocean, being less free than before the breach was built, must cause it to stagnate and produce noxious exhalations. However this may be, it is certain, that the island of Bombay no longer deserves its former appellation, provided a due degree of temperance be observed, without which health cannot be expected in any warm climate. The climate of Bombay seems to be drier than that of many other places under the same parallel; the rains lasting only four months of the year, with slight intermissions. The rainy season is generally ushered in by a tremendous thunder-storm called the Elephanta, from its extraordinary violence: after this, however, the air is agreeably cooled, and the excessive heat much moderated. The rainy season commences about the 25th of May, Curious Phenomenon. 1805. and continues till the latter end of September; August. after which there never falls any thing more than a transient shower, and that very rarely. Mr. Ives relates a very singular circumstance concerning the island of Bombay during these periodical rains, viz. that in ten days after their commencement, every pool and puddle swarms with a species of fish about six inches in length, resembling a mullet; a phenomenon that has occasioned various speculations. Some have imagined, that the exhaling power of the sun is so strong in the dry season, as to be able to raise the spawn of these fishes into the atmosphere, and there suspend and nourish it till the rains come on, when it drops down in living and perceptible fish. A less extravagant supposition is, that after the ponds become dry, the spawn may possibly fall into deep fissures below the apparent bottom, remaining there during the dry season, supplied with a sufficient quantity of moisture to preserve it from corruption. The vegetable productions of Bombay are very trifling. Mr. Ives says, that its "soil is so barren as not to produce any one thing worth mentioning;" but afterwards informs us, that "its natural produce is the cocoa-nut tree, from which they extract a liquor called toddy. This is soft and mild when drank inmediately; but if it stands long, gathers strength, and proves very intoxicating; whence probably arose the term toddy-headed." Mr. Grose gives an account somewhat different. The oarts or cocoa-nut groves make the most considerable part of the landed property, being planted wherever the situation and soil are Vegetable Productions. favourable to them. When a number of these 1805. groves lie contiguous to each other, they form August. what is called the woods; through which there is a due space left for roads and path-ways, where one is pleasantly defended from the sun at all hours of the day. They are also thick set with houses belonging to the respective proprietors, as well as with the huts of the poorer sort of people; but are very unwholesome for the reasons already given. As to the cocoa nut tree, not all the descriptions I have met with in various authors seem to come up to the reality of its wonderful properties and use. "The rice fields differ in value according to the fineness and quantity of the rice they produce. The growth of this grain has a peculiarity not unworthy of notice, viz. that as it loves a watery soil, so to whatever height the water rises, where it is planted, the growth of the rice keeps measure with it, even to that of twelve or fourteen feet; the summit always appearing above the surface of the water. It is also remarked, that the eating of new rice affects the eyes. The fact is certain, though the physical reason is unknown*" We I have already had occasion to advert to the credulity of Mr. Grose, when speaking of the conjurers of India: in fact, he has indiscriminately filled his pages with superficial views and old women's legends, without giving himself the trouble of reflecting on every subject that he advances. have lately heard the blindness among our troops in Egypt attributed, by such as Mr. Grose, to the rice, but by keen observers, to the reflection of the sun: the blindness, so prevalent among the inhabitants of China, has also been attributed to the rice which they eat, instead of excess in a certain vice, which has a specific effect on the eyes.—J. J. Snakes. 1805. Brab, or rather wild palm-trees, are here August. and there interspersed, which bear an insipid kind of fruit, about the size of a common bean; but the chief profit from them is the toddy, or liquor drawn from them by incisions at the top, the arrack of which is better than that from the cocoa-nut tree. They generally grow near the sea side, as they delight most in a sandy soil. It is on this tree that the toddy-birds, so called from their attachment to it, make their exquisitely curious nests, wrought out of the thinnest reeds and filaments of branches, with an inimitable mechanism. The birds themselves are about the size of a partridge, but are of no value, either for plumage, song, or the table. "This island is a strong instance of the benefits arising from a good government, and a numerous population; for not a spot of it remains uncultivated; so that though it is far from producing sufficient for the consumption of its inhabitants, and notwithstanding its many disadvantages of situation and soil, yet it yields incomparably more than the adjacent island of Salsette. On the sea shore round the island are a great variety of beautiful shells, particularly a sort called ventle-traps, which are held in great esteem among the ladies. Mr. Ives enumerates the following snakes found on this island, and other parts of the British possessions in the East Indies. 1st. The Cobra de Capello, growing from four to eight or nine feet in length, whose bite often proves mortal in fifteen minutes. 2d. The Cobra Manila, a small bluish snake, about a foot in length, and |