Chapter 28

[459]Proceedings of the South India Missionary Conference, 1858, p. 283.

[460]Reports connected with the duties of the Corps of Engineers of the Madras Presidency, 1846, vol. ii., p. 108.Report of Captain Bell, p. 117.

[461]There was formerly a peculiar system of collecting land revenue prevalent in Tanjore and part of Tinnevelly, calledOolungoo, by which the Government demand was dependent on the current price of grain. A standard grain assessment was fixed on each village, and also a standard rate according to which the grain demand was to be commuted into money; but if prices rose more than 10 per cent. above the standard commutation rate, or fell more than 5 per cent. below it, the Government, and not the cultivator, was to receive the profit and to bear the loss. The advantage of the system was that the Government participated in the benefit of high prices with the cultivator, while the latter was relieved from loss when prices were much depressed.—Mill'sIndia in 1858, p. 119.This Oolungoo system was introduced into Tanjore in 1825. It was found that the system was fertile in fraud and corruption, especially in connection with the determination of the annual price, and with claims for alleged deficiency of produce. In July, 1859, the Government resolved to abolish the Oolungoo system, and to substitute a fixed money demand, similar to that which prevails in all other districts. By 1860 this change had been completed, both in Tanjore and Tinnevelly.—Principal Measures of Sir Charles Trevelyan's Administration at Madras(Madras, 1860), p. 55.

This Oolungoo system was introduced into Tanjore in 1825. It was found that the system was fertile in fraud and corruption, especially in connection with the determination of the annual price, and with claims for alleged deficiency of produce. In July, 1859, the Government resolved to abolish the Oolungoo system, and to substitute a fixed money demand, similar to that which prevails in all other districts. By 1860 this change had been completed, both in Tanjore and Tinnevelly.—Principal Measures of Sir Charles Trevelyan's Administration at Madras(Madras, 1860), p. 55.

[462]The largest temple in Southern India, next to that of Madura.

[463]FromKar, black, andura town, in Tamil.

[464]Hooker'sFlora Indica, i. p. 124.

[465]Ibid., i. p. 133.

[466]Dr. Cleghorn states that the Seegoor forest has been much exhausted by unscrupulous contractors. "It is important," he adds, "that it should be allowed to recover, as it is the main source of supply to Ootacamund for housebuilding purposes." Captain Morgan has been placed in charge of it, and it is hoped that the sale of sandal and jungle-wood will cover the expenses, while the young teak is coming on for future supply, P. 36.

[467]The areca-palm requires a low moist situation, with rather a sandy soil, either under thebundof a tank, or in a position otherwise favourable for irrigation. The seeds are put into holes six feet apart, and the tree comes into bearing in about eight years. It yields fruit for fifty years, and, when in full bearing, produces 1½ lbs. of nuts.

[468]The Lingayets are members of theVira Saivasect, or worshippers of Siva as theLinga, a representation of which they carry round their necks. The sect is numerous in the central and southern parts of the peninsula. It is of modern origin, having been founded by a Brahmin of Kalyan in the middle of the 12th century. Its members deny the sanctity of the Brahmins and the authority of the Vedas, recognize various divinities, and virtually abolish the distinction of castes and the inferiority of women. They are divided intoAradhyas, by birth Brahmins, and often well versed in Sanscrit literature;Jangamas, who have a literature of their own, written in Karnata and Telugu; and Bhaktas.—Wilson'sIndian Glossary, p. 311.

[469]The whole population of Coorg is about 119,160.

[470]Namely, theAmma Kodagasor Cauvery Brahmins; theKodagasor chief tribe; theHimbokuluor herdsmen; theHeggadeor cultivators; theArior carpenters; theBadigeor smiths; theKurubaor honey gatherers; theKavatior jungle cultivators; theBudiyaor drawers of toddy from theCaryota urenspalm; theMedaor basket-makers; theKaleyaor farm-labourers; theHoleyaor slaves; and theYerawaor slaves from Malabar, cheaper than cattle.

[471]Coorg, by Rev. H. Moegling. (Mangalore, 1855.)

[472]Observations by Dr. R. Baikie.Madras Journal, 1837, vi. p. 342.

[473]1860-61.Revenue of Coorg.Expenditure.Land revenue£14,727General expenditure£10,211Excise and stamps3,611Public works1,153Income tax98Miscellaneous8,300£26,736£11,364

[473]

1860-61.

Revenue of Coorg.Expenditure.Land revenue£14,727General expenditure£10,211Excise and stamps3,611Public works1,153Income tax98Miscellaneous8,300£26,736£11,364

[474]Seemann'sPopular History of the Palms, p. 134.

[475]Moegling'sCoorg, pp. 74-77; also Buchanan'sTravels, ii. p. 511, and Drury'sUseful Plants of India.

[476]Cleghorn'sForests and Gardens of South India, pp. 126-44, where the official correspondence respectingkumariwill be found.

[477]Cleghorn, p. 11. Poon spars are also obtained fromStercula fœtida, a tree with brownish flowers, emitting a most horrible smell.

[478]Hooker'sFlora Indica, i. p. 126.

[479]The inhabitants of the Laccadive islands are Sooni Mussulmans. They have some songs commemorating the introduction of Islam 500 years ago, but do not know when the Beebee of Cannanore got possession. Menakoy, the largest island, is a mass of coral 5½ miles in diameter. The land is less than a mile wide, the rest being a reef encircling a large lagoon. Within a hundred yards of the reef there is no bottom. The lagoon, which abounds in turtle and fish, has three entrances from the sea, one of which has a depth of two fathoms. The soil of the island is a coarse powdered coral, with a little vegetable matter. It is quite flat, no part being destitute of vegetation; the south thickly covered with cocoanut-trees and underwood, and the north more sparingly. Rats abound, there are some cats, a few cows and goats, large grey cranes, ducks occasionally, and the mosquitos are fearful.The population is 2500; of these 116 areMalikans, the aristocracy of the islands, who own vessels trading to Bengal. TheKoornakar, or agent of the Beebee, is generally aMalikan; he collects rents, and superintends her traffic. TheMalikanshave the exclusive privilege of wearing shoes, live in large houses built round courtyards, and possess English quadrants, charts, compasses, and telescopes. Below them are 180Malummies, or pilots, a rank obtained by merit. Then 1107Klasies, forming the bulk of the population, who are small landed proprietors, go to sea for regular wages, but are very independent. Then 583Maylacherries, or tree-climbers for hire. The head-men are elected by the people. The islanders have six or seven vessels fit for the Bengal trade, and three or four for coasting. They go with money to Goa and Mangalore for salt and rice, with coir to Bengal, with cocoanuts to Galle, and bring Calcutta cloths home.—Mr. Thomas'sReport.

The population is 2500; of these 116 areMalikans, the aristocracy of the islands, who own vessels trading to Bengal. TheKoornakar, or agent of the Beebee, is generally aMalikan; he collects rents, and superintends her traffic. TheMalikanshave the exclusive privilege of wearing shoes, live in large houses built round courtyards, and possess English quadrants, charts, compasses, and telescopes. Below them are 180Malummies, or pilots, a rank obtained by merit. Then 1107Klasies, forming the bulk of the population, who are small landed proprietors, go to sea for regular wages, but are very independent. Then 583Maylacherries, or tree-climbers for hire. The head-men are elected by the people. The islanders have six or seven vessels fit for the Bengal trade, and three or four for coasting. They go with money to Goa and Mangalore for salt and rice, with coir to Bengal, with cocoanuts to Galle, and bring Calcutta cloths home.—Mr. Thomas'sReport.

[480]The gross exports of cotton from the ports in the various districts of the Madras Presidency in 1859-60 were as follows:—Vizagapatam40,758lbs.Valued at£783Gosavery3,000"36Krishna198,670"1,591Nellore21,075"230Fort St. George7,960,368"128,648Tinnevelly18,562,546"274,380Malabar2,509,132"49,900N. and S. Canara33,264,498"504,905Total62,560,047"960,473In 1860-61 the total export of cotton from Bombay amounted to 355,393,894 lbs.; of which 278,868,126 lbs. went to Great Britain.In the same year the ports of Malabar and Canara sent 55,182,181 lbs. to Bombay.

[480]The gross exports of cotton from the ports in the various districts of the Madras Presidency in 1859-60 were as follows:—

Vizagapatam40,758lbs.Valued at£783Gosavery3,000"36Krishna198,670"1,591Nellore21,075"230Fort St. George7,960,368"128,648Tinnevelly18,562,546"274,380Malabar2,509,132"49,900N. and S. Canara33,264,498"504,905Total62,560,047"960,473

In 1860-61 the total export of cotton from Bombay amounted to 355,393,894 lbs.; of which 278,868,126 lbs. went to Great Britain.

In the same year the ports of Malabar and Canara sent 55,182,181 lbs. to Bombay.

[481]In lat. 15° N. the western ghauts are not more than 1100 feet above the sea.

[482]The trap formation of the northern part of the ghauts terminates in 18° N., and is succeeded by laterite.

[483]Transactions of the Medical and Physical Society of Bombay for 1838, i. p. 92.

[484]OrGnidia eriocephalaof Graham.—Dalzell'sBombay Flora, p. 221.

[485]Dalzell'sBombay Flora, p. 93.

[486]Ibid., p. 275.

[487]The following list of shrubs, trees, and ferns growing at Mahabaleshwur has been kindly furnished by Mr. Dalzell.List of Shrubs and Trees growing on the highest ground at Mahabaleshwur.Eugenia Jambolanum.Memecylon tinctorium.Mæsa Indica.Pygeum Zeylanicum.Indigofera pulchella.Actinodaphne (2 sp.).Bradleia lanceolaria.Elæagnus Kologa.Osyris Wightiana.Lasiosiphon speciosus.Salix tetrasperma.Callicarpa cana.Strobilanthus asperrimus and callosus.Ligustrum Neilgherrense.Olea dioica and Roxburgiana.Ilex Wightiana.Maba nigrescens.Diospyros (3 sp.)Hopea spicata and racemosa.Embelia ribes and glandulifera.Notonia grandiflora.Artemisia parviflora and Indica.Chinchonaceæ.Grumilea vaginans.Pavetta Indica.Ixora nigricans and parviflora.Canthium umbellatum.Vangueria edulis.Santia venulosa.Wendlandia Notoniana.Hymenodictyon obovatum and excelsum.Griffithia fragrans.Randia dumetorum.Ferns at Mahabaleshwur.Lastrea densa and cochleata.Nephrodium molle.Sagenia hippocrepis.Athyrium filix fœmina.Asplenium planicaule and erectum.Diplazium esculentum.Pteris quadrialata, lucida, and aquilina.Campteria Rottleriana.Adiantum lunulatum.Cheilanthes farinosa.Polypodium quercifolium.Pleopeltis nuda.Pœcilopteris virens.Leptochilus lanceolatus.Acrostichum aureum.Lygodium scandens.Osmunda regalis.

[487]The following list of shrubs, trees, and ferns growing at Mahabaleshwur has been kindly furnished by Mr. Dalzell.

List of Shrubs and Trees growing on the highest ground at Mahabaleshwur.

Chinchonaceæ.

Ferns at Mahabaleshwur.

[488]Every Hindu wears a sect-mark on his forehead. These marks are thick daubs of white earth, red ochre, or sandal-wood, and there are several forms according to the different sects. The grand distinctions are between worshippers of Vishnu and Siva, the latter wearing his mark horizontal, and the former perpendicular. Any conical or triangular mark is a symbol of thelinga. Two perpendicular lines and a dot between, denotes a worshipper of Vishnu as Rama or Krishna, &c. &c.

[489]Cleghorn, p. 222. Dalzell, p. 86.

[490]OrEuphorbia neriifolia. Dalzell, p. 226.

[491]Account of the village of Lony, by T. Coats.Transactions of the Bombay Literary Society, 1823, vol. iii. p. 172.

[492]Thecumbooof the Madras Presidency (Holcus spicatus).

[493]Thecholumof Madras (Sorghum vulgare).

[494]The natives of India are supplied, by Nature, with an endless variety of condiments to season their food, many of them growing wild. In the different parts of India I noticed as many as twenty-five ingredients used in curries and porridges. The tender leaves and legumes of theagati(Agati grandiflora); oil from theelloopafruit (Bassia longifolia); young unripe gourds of theBenincasa cerifera; thepapawfruit; cocoanut-oil; the leaves ofCanthium parviflorum; capsicums; cinnamon; leaves ofCocculus villosus; turmeric; cardamoms;jhingo(Luffa acutangula); the fruit ofMomordica charantia; green fruit ofMorinda citrifolia; the legumes of the horse-radish-tree (Hyperanthera Moringa); the plantain; the tender shoots of the lotus; the pickled seeds of aNymphæa; the leaves ofPremna latifolia; berries ofSolanum verbascifolium; legumes ofTrigonella tetrapetala; the white centre of the leaf culms of lemon-grass; theLablab cultratus; onions; the fruit ofSapota elingoidesin the Neilgherries; themoong(Phaseolus mungo); and many other pulses.

[495]The ploughs, and the carts on wheels bringing home the food from the fields, are mentioned in the 1st Ashtaka of the Rig Veda.

[496]Dr. Forbes Watson has made some very interesting calculations on the amount of pulses rich in nitrogen, which must be added to rice and other cereals comparatively poor in that constituent, in order that the mixture may contain the same proportion of carbonous to nitrogenous matter as is found in wheat, namely six to one. (See Table, next page.)The cereals which I saw growing in the peninsula of India, besides rice, maize, wheat, and barley, were:—1.Setaria Italica, calledtennayin Tamil, andsameeby the tribes on the Neilgherry hills, which is the Italian millet. The seeds are used for cakes and porridge. In the Deccan it is only cultivated in small quantities for the ryot's own use, and seldom for market. The grain is very small.2.Panicum Miliaceum, calledvaragooon the Pulney hills, andwarreein the Deccan: a small millet, generally sown broadcast on the sides of hills. In the Neilgherries it is used as an offering to the gods, mixed with honey, and wrapped in plantain-leaves.3.Panicum pilosum, orbadlee, will grow in the worst soil, but is not much cultivated, unless the rains happen to be too scanty for other crops. The seed is very small, forming a long hairy spike.4.Cynosurus corocanus, orragee, is a very prolific grain, and forms the staple food of the poorer classes in Mysore, and on the slopes of the ghauts. It requires a light good soil, from which the water readily flows. In the Deccan they raise it in seed-beds, and transplant when a few inches high. It is made into dark brown cakes.5.Holcus spicatus, or spiked millet, calledcumbooin Madras, andbajreein the Deccan, where it is the chief food of the inhabitants, and is considered very nutritious.6.Sorghum vulgare, or great millet, calledcholumin Madras, andjowareein the Deccan. It is made into cakes and porridge, and the stalks, which contain sugar, are excellent fodder for cattle. It grows six or eight feet high, and soon exhausts the soil, so that two crops are never taken in succession.7.Sesamum Indicum, or gingelee oil-plant, calledtillin the Deccan. Oil is expressed from the seeds, which are also toasted and ground into meal for food. In the Deccan it is sown on gravelly or red soil, and the plants grow three or four feet high. Presents of the seed, made up in little boxes, are exchanged by friends on the day that the sun takes its northerly declination; and they are also acceptable as offerings to the god Mahadeo or Siva.With these seven grains, the following pulses are usually raised:—1.Cicer arietinum, or Bengal gram, the seeds of which are eaten, and the oxalic acid, which exudes from all parts of the plant, is used as vinegar for curries.2.Dolichos unifloris, or horse gram, with grey seeds, used for feeding horses and cattle.3.Dolichos sinensis, orlobia, a twining annual, with large pale violet flowers. The seeds are much used for food.4.Cajanus Indicus, pigeon-pea, ortoor. A shrub three to six feet high, with yellow papilionaceous flowers. This is an excellent pulse, and makes a good peas-pudding.5.Phaseolus mungo, black gram, ormoong. A nearly erect, hairy annual, with greenish-yellow flowers. It is much cultivated, and is a very important article of food.6.Phaseolus rostratus, orhullounda, a twining plant, with large, deep rose-purple, papilionaceous flowers, grown in Malabar, and other parts of the peninsula.7. Another kind ofmoong, calledooreed, with black and white seeds.8.Lablab cultratus, a twining plant, with white, red, or purple papilionaceous flowers; much cultivated in gardens, and used for food.9.Dolichos lablab, orbulla, a twining plant of which there are several varieties. The seeds are much eaten by the poorer classes when rice is dear, and are reckoned a wholesome substantial food. Cattle are very fond of the stalks. One variety, with white flowers, is cultivated in gardens, supported on poles, forming arbours about the doors of houses. The pods are eaten, but not the seeds.

The cereals which I saw growing in the peninsula of India, besides rice, maize, wheat, and barley, were:—

1.Setaria Italica, calledtennayin Tamil, andsameeby the tribes on the Neilgherry hills, which is the Italian millet. The seeds are used for cakes and porridge. In the Deccan it is only cultivated in small quantities for the ryot's own use, and seldom for market. The grain is very small.

2.Panicum Miliaceum, calledvaragooon the Pulney hills, andwarreein the Deccan: a small millet, generally sown broadcast on the sides of hills. In the Neilgherries it is used as an offering to the gods, mixed with honey, and wrapped in plantain-leaves.

3.Panicum pilosum, orbadlee, will grow in the worst soil, but is not much cultivated, unless the rains happen to be too scanty for other crops. The seed is very small, forming a long hairy spike.

4.Cynosurus corocanus, orragee, is a very prolific grain, and forms the staple food of the poorer classes in Mysore, and on the slopes of the ghauts. It requires a light good soil, from which the water readily flows. In the Deccan they raise it in seed-beds, and transplant when a few inches high. It is made into dark brown cakes.

5.Holcus spicatus, or spiked millet, calledcumbooin Madras, andbajreein the Deccan, where it is the chief food of the inhabitants, and is considered very nutritious.

6.Sorghum vulgare, or great millet, calledcholumin Madras, andjowareein the Deccan. It is made into cakes and porridge, and the stalks, which contain sugar, are excellent fodder for cattle. It grows six or eight feet high, and soon exhausts the soil, so that two crops are never taken in succession.

7.Sesamum Indicum, or gingelee oil-plant, calledtillin the Deccan. Oil is expressed from the seeds, which are also toasted and ground into meal for food. In the Deccan it is sown on gravelly or red soil, and the plants grow three or four feet high. Presents of the seed, made up in little boxes, are exchanged by friends on the day that the sun takes its northerly declination; and they are also acceptable as offerings to the god Mahadeo or Siva.

With these seven grains, the following pulses are usually raised:—

1.Cicer arietinum, or Bengal gram, the seeds of which are eaten, and the oxalic acid, which exudes from all parts of the plant, is used as vinegar for curries.

2.Dolichos unifloris, or horse gram, with grey seeds, used for feeding horses and cattle.

3.Dolichos sinensis, orlobia, a twining annual, with large pale violet flowers. The seeds are much used for food.

4.Cajanus Indicus, pigeon-pea, ortoor. A shrub three to six feet high, with yellow papilionaceous flowers. This is an excellent pulse, and makes a good peas-pudding.

5.Phaseolus mungo, black gram, ormoong. A nearly erect, hairy annual, with greenish-yellow flowers. It is much cultivated, and is a very important article of food.

6.Phaseolus rostratus, orhullounda, a twining plant, with large, deep rose-purple, papilionaceous flowers, grown in Malabar, and other parts of the peninsula.

7. Another kind ofmoong, calledooreed, with black and white seeds.

8.Lablab cultratus, a twining plant, with white, red, or purple papilionaceous flowers; much cultivated in gardens, and used for food.

9.Dolichos lablab, orbulla, a twining plant of which there are several varieties. The seeds are much eaten by the poorer classes when rice is dear, and are reckoned a wholesome substantial food. Cattle are very fond of the stalks. One variety, with white flowers, is cultivated in gardens, supported on poles, forming arbours about the doors of houses. The pods are eaten, but not the seeds.

[497]Built in 1749 by the Peishwa Balajee Bajee Rao.

[498]"The cultivation of the chinchona-trees may succeed in localities not appearing to offer exactly the same conditions regarding climate and the general character of the country as are peculiar to their native forests."—Report by Dr. Brandis(Supplement to theCalcutta Gazette, August 31, 1861), p. 467.

[499]"Mr. McIvor deserves great credit for the manner in which he has laid out the garden. It is both a beautiful pleasure-ground, and a valuable public institution for the improvement of indigenous, and the naturalisation of foreign plants; and it has been formed from the commencement by Mr. McIvor, with great industry and artistic skill, out of a rude ravine."—Minute by Sir Charles Trevelyan, Feb. 24th, 1860.

[500]Cleghorn, p. 318.

[501]Cleghorn, p. 180 and 359.

[502]I have supplied Mr. McIvor with the following works on the chinchona-plants:—1. Weddell'sHistoire Naturelle des Quinquinas.2. Howard'sNueva Quinologia de Pavon.3. Poeppig'sNotes on the Chinchona Trees and Barks of Huanuco.4. Karsten'sMedicinal Chinchona Barks of New Granada.5. Markham'sReport of a Visit to the Chinchona Forests of Caravaya.6. Spruce'sExpedition to procure Seeds and Plants of C. succirubra.7. Pritchett'sReport on the Chinchona Plants of Huanuco.8. Cross'sReport on the C. Condaminea.9. Junghuhn'sCultivation of the Quina-tree in Java, 1859.10.Botanical Descriptions of Species of Chinchonæ now growing in India.

[502]I have supplied Mr. McIvor with the following works on the chinchona-plants:—

[503]Order of the Madras Government, July 3rd, 1861, No. 1328.

[504]Secretary to the Government of India, to the Secretary to the Government of Fort St. George, Dec. 9th, 1861.

[505]I sent a smaller parcel of C. Condaminea seeds in a letter, which arrived first at Ootacamund, in the middle of February. Sixteen days after sowing, twelve seeds were found to have germinated; and early in March 138 seedlings were up, or 30 per cent. of the total number of seeds sown. The large parcel of seeds arrived at Ootacamund on March 4th, and were sown at once. See p. 570.

[507]The chinchona-plantations were commenced in Java in December 1854. On the 31st of December, 1860, they had ofC. Calisayaplants:5510in the germinating sheds.1806planted out.1030living cuttings.C. lancifoliaplants:38in the nursery sheds.42planted out.28living cuttings.Total .. ..8454Their other species is worthless.—Mr. Fraser'sReport, p. 2.

[507]The chinchona-plantations were commenced in Java in December 1854. On the 31st of December, 1860, they had of

C. Calisayaplants:5510in the germinating sheds.1806planted out.1030living cuttings.C. lancifoliaplants:38in the nursery sheds.42planted out.28living cuttings.Total .. ..8454

Their other species is worthless.—Mr. Fraser'sReport, p. 2.

[508]"It is the height of improvidence for the collectors to strip off the bark from the roots, thus securing a worthless product at the expense of any possible future renovation of the tree."—Howard.

[509]See chap. iii. p. 58.

[510]This is provided for in Java by placing a shed over the young plants.

[511]Mr. McIvor informs me that the winter of 1861-62 was the coldest he has experienced since he came to the Neilgherry hills, a period of fourteen years.

[512]Spruce'sReport, p. 23.

[513]Howard,Nueva Quinologia, Nos. 2 and 7.

[514]Cross'sReport, p. 5.

[515]See also Weddell'sHistoire Naturelle des Quinquinas, p. 32.

[516]Mr. Howard thinks that the alkaloids are formed in the barks, by a reaction between ammonia and chincho-tannic acid. The alkaloids are pure in the bark of the branches, somewhat less so in that of the trunk, and most impure in that of the roots.—Microscopic Observations, p. 2.

[517]Howard.

[518]Spruce'sReport, p. 83.

[519]Ibid., p. 27. See alsoKarsten, p. 20.

[520]Karsten, p. 20.

[521]Spruce'sReport, p. 23.

[522]Lindley'sTheory and Practice of Horticulture, p. 70.

[523]In quills from large branches there is more alkaloid than in the smaller branches: in the bark of the trunk the proportion is still further increased, but this diminishes in quantity and deteriorates in quality in the bark of the roots.—Howard.

[524]Mr. McIvor reports the thickness of the bark of some of the young plants at Ootacamund to be nearly a quarter of an inch. The bark of quills ofC. Calisayagiven me by Mr. Howard, as samples from a lot on sale, is only one-eighth of an inch in thickness.

[525]The only reason why the value of quill-bark is much less than that oftabla-bark is that the former is usually mixed with spurious barks. Otherwise the value of quill-bark would only be about threepence per lb. less thantabla-bark.

[526]Cinnamon is one of the plants which, like the chinchonæ, are cultivated solely for their bark. Mr. Thwaites, the Director of the Botanical Gardens in Ceylon, has supplied me with a few particulars respecting the cultivation of cinnamon. The young shoots are peeled twice during the year, at a particular period of growth, when the bark comes off readily. This time is known at once by the peelers, from the appearance of the young shoots, and the process of peeling is then a very expeditious one, with practised hands. Young plants are raised from seeds in nurseries, and planted six feet apart, when they are a foot or eighteen inches long. They will commonly bear peeling in three or four years after being transplanted, if in a favourable locality and properly attended to. The roots are earthed up frequently, to keep the soil loose and free from weeds. In 1858, 750,744 lbs. of cinnamon were exported from Ceylon, worth 37,537l.There are forty-nine cinnamon-gardens in the island.

[527]Mr. McIvor observes that the leaves of all the chinchona-plants at Ootacamund are exceedingly bitter to the taste, and he suggests that these leaves, which naturally fall off the trees in succession, may be turned to account by being imported to England as a substitute for hops in the manufacture of beer. They would no doubt prove a healthy ingredient in beer, but it remains to be proved whether their bitter would preserve it as well as hops.

[528]"Attacked with violent tertian ague, and without any medicine, in Pampa-yacu, I made use of the green bark direct from the chinchona-tree, which I peeled from one growing a few hundred steps distant; and although, in consequence of unavoidable exposure in the rainy season, and the very great exhaustion after eight months' wild forest life, the disease returned on three occasions, it was each time conquered within a week. The very unpleasant additional effect, in this case, of the green bark, of producing obstinate obstructions, demands consideration. It might be well obviated by a plentiful addition of Epsom salts to the infusion. After the first dose of this fresh and unadulterated remedy, a sensation of general well-being is felt, and after recovery, on the first excursion, one approaches the healing trees with warm feelings of gratitude, whose beautiful reddish blossoms appear in such quantities in January, and their round crowns can be distinguished at a distance."—Poeppig,Reise, ii. p. 223.

[529]Histoire Naturelle des Quinquinas, p. 13.

[530]"From the unfitness of the 'Grey Bark' species for the production of quinine, comparatively small good will be likely to result from their naturalisation."—Howard,Introduction, p. xiii.

[531]Quinine and Antiperiodics in their Therapeutic Relations, by Dr. J. Macpherson (Calcutta, 1856), p. 27.

[532]There are 477 coffee estates in Ceylon; and in 1858-59 the quantity of coffee exported was 601,595 cwts., valued at 1,488,019l.In the same year the revenue was 654,961l., expenditure 594,382l., value of imports 3,444,889l., and of exports 2,328,790l.

[533]See Mr. Thwaites'sReport, dated Peradenia, Sept. 28th, 1861.

[534]I have taken the following brief notices of Sikkim, Bhotan, and the Khassya hills, from Dr. Hooker'sFlora Indica, andHimalayan Journals.

[535]Flora Indica, i., p. 178.

[536]Ibid., i., p. 175.

[537]Flora Indica, i., p. 233.Himalayan Journals, ii., p. 277.

[538]Reportby Dr. Brandis,Supplement to the Calcutta Gazette, August 31st, 1861, No. 55, p. 467.

[539]Quinine and Antiperiodics in their Therapeutic Relations, by Dr. J. Macpherson (Calcutta, 1856).

[540]Macpherson, p. 2.

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