Page:A descriptive catalogue of Bengali works.djvu/69

PERIODICALS— ALMANACS. 61 PERIODICALS— ALMANACS. In villages where no other Bengali book ever penetrates, there is the Almanac to be found, the Hindu cannot marry, make a journey or execute any important work with- out its aid, as lucky days are given in it, when the child is first to eat rice, put on the paita, have the ear pierced, go to school, begin marriage negociations, hence we need not he surprised that 100,000 copies of Almanacs are published annually in Calcutta, and spread by book hawkers over the country. Nuddea, Bali, Chandradip, Janai, Baxa, Bali, Khanakhul, Krishnaghur, Kodalyea, Digsa, Vishnupur, are places famous in former days for Almanacs. There is an Almanac in existence now which dates a century and a half ago. We have no space to enume- rate all the Almanacs which have been published, we give a few— ex nnodisce omnes. In 18 18 came out Ramhari's Almanac, pp. 135, with a tolerably good picture of a goddess drawing the chariot of the sun. In 1824 the CALCUTTA NEW ALMANAC, pp. 168. In 1825 came out Bishwanath Devas ALMANAC, 1 Re., then the Chandrika one, 12 as. In 1835 GOBARDAN SHARMA'S ALMANAC, pp. 144. In 1836 came out MEND IE' S ALMANAC, giving the moon's digits, Hindu and Musalman festivals, tides, sunrise, table of wages, Police Courts, Trade, Postage, also MADAV MAHAN DAS' ALMANAC,pp. 183, edited by Ganga Gobinda of Mahanad. In 1840 the VIDANMOD ALMANAC, pp. 300. The Calcutta TRACT SOCIETY, published an Almanac yearly from 1846 to 1852, containing about 130 pp., for 4 as., illustrated with neat lithographic drawings of some of the heavenly bodies ; it con- tained information on the following subjects, the solar sys- tem : comets, earth and moon, the various modes of calculating time by the Hindus, English and Musalmans, Eclipses, Calendar of sunrise, sunset, moon's phases, holidays, tides, Jewish epochs, coins, weights, stamp duties, the human body, mis- sionary statistics. In 1847 EPISCOPAL ALMANAC, B. C. P., pp. 26, giving the daily lessons and Chuich festivals, sunrise and setting — ceased in 1850. 276. CONES' ALMANAC, pp. 296, 8 as., for 1855-6, by Ramchandar Mukerjea, begun in 1 846, has a circulation of 6,000 copies — neatly got up with 19 pictures ; on good paper and tvpe and sold at the rate of 40 pages for an anna — a guide to Hindu popular mythology and astrology for the Europeans. 277. CONES' ALMANAC, pp. 178, 4 as., 1855-6, has a circulation of 5,000 copies, an abridgment of the larger one. G