chain of western ghauts sinks down far below the chinchona zone, and north of 14° they scarcely rise above the plain of Dharwar.4

There are several profitable coffee plantations in Nuggur, and I understand that it is in contemplation to establish a teak plantation in that district. Though, as a locality for chinchona cultivation, it is not to be compared with the Neilgherries or Pulneys, or even with Coorg, still it is probable that some of the hardier species might thrive there, and thus the area of the chinchona-plants would be eventually extended from Nuggur, in 14° N., to the hills near Courtallum, in the extreme end of the peninsula.

We embarked at Cannanore on board a little steamer for Bombay. The view from the sea is pretty. On the left is an old fort built long ago by the Dutch; in the centre, looking from the anchorage, is a sandy beach, where elephants were being loaded with the luggage of a detachment of troops just arrived from Calicut; and a little to the right is the native town surrounded by extensive groves of cocoanuttrees, with the blue line of the Coorg and Wynaad mountains visible in the distance. There are three very large buildings on the sea-shore, one of which is the palace of the Beebee, a long house, with the ground-floor let out as a pepper

warehouse.

The Portuguese built a fort at Cannanore in 1505. They were driven out by the Dutch, who sold the place to a Moplah, from whom the present Beebee of Cannanore is descended, the succession going in the female line. She is much in debt, but owns the Laccadive islands, as well as Cannanore, and the land round the town. We were told that the Beebee considered that she had been shamefully treated by the English Government, and that she spoke her mind

4 Hooker's Flora Indica, i. p. 126.

very freely on the subject. It appears that, in about 1545, the Laccadive islands were conferred in jagheer on the head of the Moplah caste at Cannanore, the ancestor of the Beebee, by the Rajah of Cherikul, on the payment of a certain tribute, which was duly rendered to the Cherikul family until its destruction by Hyder Ali in the last century. After the storming of Cannanore by the English in 1791, the islands came into possession of the East India Company, and in 1799 they were restored to the Beebee's family, subject to the payment of an annual peshcush of 10,000 Rs.

In April, 1847, a hurricane of unequalled violence swept over the islands, which are only nine feet above the sea in the highest part. The wind tore up the trees by the roots, the waves flooded the land, and almost everything on the two most valuable islands was destroyed. The Beebee borrowed a steamer from the Government to send supplies for the relief of the islanders, and she also obtained a remission of one-third of the peshcush for ten years, on certain conditions connected with reforms in her administration. Her difficulties have chiefly arisen from being unable to pay the sum demanded for arrears of peshcush, and for the use of the steamer, and in 1854 the English Government assumed the administration of the islands until the debt was paid. It was desired that the Beebee should give them up altogether for a pecuniary equivalent, but to this she has resolutely refused to consent.

restored to her."

The islands have since been

5 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 5 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 under

On the day after sailing from Cannanore we put into Mangalore, where the town, like that of Calicut, is completely hidden from the sea, the lighthouse and a few bungalows being visible on a hill in the rear. This was the dry season, and the coast of Canara was not nearly so pretty as that of Malabar, looking parched and dried up. North of Mangalore is the port of Compta, with a lighthouse on a steep conical hill, but no town visible. Compta is now the port of shipment for the cotton of Dharwar, and there were several pattamars in the anchorage, with their decks piled up with bales of cotton. They take it up to Bombay, where it is pressed and shipped for England; and we heard that the crews of the pattamars work their way into the bales, and pull out large handfuls of cotton, filling the space up with filth. In this way there is a petty trade in stolen cotton along the coast, and the people work it up into gloves, stockings, &c., for sale.

Though, at the time of my visit, Compta was used as the cotton-port for Dharwar, yet the port of Sedashighur, further north, has a great advantage over it, and is the only place along the coast where there is safe anchorage during the S.W. monsoon. A point of land, called Carwar head, forms and protects the bay of Carwar and Beitcool cove, and, with the assistance of a breakwater, there would be safe anchorage throughout the year. A line of islands and

wood, 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 are Malikans, the aristocracy of the islands, who own vessels trading to Bengal. The Koornakar, or agent of the Beebee, is generally a Malikan; he collects rents, and superintends her traffic. The Malikans have the exclusive privilege of wearing shoes, live in large houses built round courtyards, and possess English quadrants, charts, compasses, and

telescopes. Below them are 180 Malummies, or pilots, a rank obtained by merit. Then 1107 Klasies, forming the bulk of the population, who are small landed proprietors, go to sea for regular wages, but are very independent. Then 583 Maylacherries, 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's Report.

rocks, called the Oyster rocks, a little to the northward, also offers a place of shelter. There is an anchorage under their lee during the S.W. monsoon, where vessels might ride in perfect safety, and, when a lighthouse is established on the highest Oyster rock, vessels will be able to approach this dangerous coast, and run into the anchorage, during the summer months. Sedashighur is nearer Dharwar than any other port; a river, the Kala-nuddee, navigable for boats for twenty miles, falls into the sea close to the anchorage, and a good road is all that is required to make this place an important port for the shipment of cotton. Energetic measures have already been adopted for this purpose, and it will not be long before Dharwar, the only cotton district in India where the American species has as yet been profitably cultivated, will be supplied with a port where the cotton may be pressed and shipped direct for England."

After passing Sedashighur we put into Goa harbour, and went thence to Vingorla, the port of the Belgaum district, and a great place for the manufacture of earthenware chatties, which are taken up the coast in pattamars. The following day we were at Rutnagherry, and passing Sevendroog, the famous stronghold of the pirate Angria, we concluded our coasting voyage by anchoring in Bombay harbour.

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

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.

CHAPTER XXVII.

THE MAHABALESHWUR HILLS AND THE DECCAN.

The

Journey from Bombay to Malcolm-penth - The Mahabaleshwur Hillsvillage and its temples - Elevation of the hills - Formation - Soil Climate - Vegetation - Sites for chinchona-plantations - Paunchgunny Waee - Its temples — The babool-tree - Shirwul — The village system - Village officials - Barra balloota -Cultivators - Festivals - Crops and harvests Poona The Bhore ghaut - Return to Bombay.

THE districts best adapted for the cultivation of chinchonaplants are those in the southern part of the peninsula, at suitable elevations, which receive moisture from both monsoons. The Neilgherry hills are the centre of these hill districts, and as we advance further from that nucleus in a northerly direction the rainfall from the south-west monsoon becomes heavier, while the climate of the winter, when easterly winds are blowing, increases in dryness. In 14° N. lat. the hills of Nuggur sink down into the plains of Dharwar, and from that point to the Mahabaleshwur hills in 18° N. there are few parts of the western ghauts which attain a sufficient elevation for the successful growth of chinchonaplants.1

The Mahabaleshwurs, however, are upwards of 4000 feet above the sea, and it was therefore possible that they might present localities suitable for chinchona cultivation. In February 1861 I started from the Mazagon bunder, at Bombay, in a bunder-boat, for the purpose of examining these hills, and, crossing the harbour, coasted for a short distance along the shores of the Concan, and then sailed up

sea.

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