4-40 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[December i, 1883, 



mercury at Colachel, when small quantities of gold 

 were found in them. Several of the remaining pieces 

 of quartz, by no meims the best, were tikeu home by 

 me and submitted to as^ay in my laboratory, when 

 they were found to yield quantities of gold varying 

 from 1 dwt. and 1 dwt. 8 grs. to 2 dwts. per tou. 

 Besides this I oaght to mention th'it I came across a 

 chio from one of th^se quartz outcrops that showed 

 very minute specs of tree gold. 



Witli the exception of the fii'st mentioned of the 

 several outcrops of quartz on this estate all the others 

 appear to be true reefs or veins, and although their 

 width is not so great as the majority of those now 

 being worked ia the Wyuaad, it has yet to be proved 

 that they would not be fouud to increase m size were 

 they traced further downwards or in the direction 

 of their dip. It has besides occurred to me that 

 possibly — nay, even probably — they would be found 

 to be leaders to a much larger vein in their vicinity, 

 though the time and the means at ray command pre- 

 vented my ni.ikiug excavations of a nature which 

 would tend to show the truth or fallacy of this 

 opinion. I may mention that the rocks associated 

 with these quartz outcrops have not that distinctly 

 fissile or even stratihed appearance which is possessed 

 by the difiereut members of the several groups of the 

 metamorphic series, nor where the lines ot stratification 

 can be di-fined do the quartz veins, except in one in- 

 stance, run par.illi>l with them. Further, the quan- 

 tity of gold obtained per ton, though small, is no evi- 

 dence that were the examination pursued to a greater 

 depth more eatisf.actory results would not be obtained, 

 and when it is remembered that these quartz outcrops 

 have been exposed to the denuding actiou of the river 

 during .an untold number of monsoons and that the 

 atmosphere has been performing its work of degra- 

 dation for an equally long period of time, we need 

 not wonder that at a depth of 1 ft. from the surface 

 the samples of [iiartz obtained failed to yield a greater 

 quantity cf gold than 2 dwts. per ton. 



Ballamore Estate. — Leaving Retreat est.ate and 

 passing nortli-«ards the next outcrop of quartz which 

 I met wiih is on the estate of Mr. P. Grant, at Balla- 

 more, where it siiowed itself iu the soft qiiartzose gneiss 

 at the side of the road which passes through a coffee 

 field to the north-east of the bungalow. From the great 

 depth of soil which covers the under-lying rook its 

 eti ike is difficult to determine. It appears, however, 

 to run in a N. W. and S. E. direction, and dips to the 

 S. W. at a considerable angle. It is distinctly bedded, 

 and its leading characteristics have been already alluded 

 to iu this article when noticing the quartz beds of Kil- 

 donan and Balloclibuie estate. Mr. D. C. C. Grant, 

 the present superintendent of the esta'e, had it ex- 

 cavated to the depth of a few feet, and took a quan- 

 tity of quartz from it, but the crystalline s!,ruoture, as 

 well as the geueral character of the contents of this 

 bed, were not promising. 



Auldbar Estate. — In treating of the lithol 'gieal 

 characteristics of the Travancore I noticed that on 

 Auldbar estate the gneissic group was well repre- 

 sented with here and there outcrops of mica-schist. 

 This would suggest that the quartz i-ock group which 

 usually c-unes in between these two would also be 

 present somewhere in this neighbourhood. So far as 

 my exainiuat on went I found only one small outcrop, 

 nor ia there any vein quartz in these portions of the 

 estate which I was enabled to examine. The outcrop 

 of quartz to which 1 allutle is exposed in a ravine 

 wl.ioh pass-s through the 2j-acre field to the left of the 

 bungalow, and which I have designated No. 3 ravine. 

 It i-> about 9 iu. wide, runs parallel to the lines of 

 stratification of the gneiss rock, and loses itself in 

 he cjffee soil on each side the ravine. In none of the 

 other ravines are there any outcrops of quiirfz but 

 there is oo reason whatever to suppose that it may 



not be fouud in those portions of the jungle bordering 

 the estate which I am unnble to examine, aud up 

 along the great valley throncjh which the Auldbar 

 River passes. Ch'mical and Mdallunjioal Laboratories, 

 Lime-street; E. C. — Mining Journal. 



THE PEEKMAAD COFFEE DISTRICT. 

 A correspondent wTites: — The following short account 

 of a -visit paid to the Peermaad Coffee District, Travau 

 core, may be interesting to some of your readers. 

 The coffee districts in Travancore are divided into 

 South, Central, and North. Peermaad is the northern 

 district, though there is one still further north, 

 which principally belongs to the North Travancore Co. 

 There are two routes by which Peermaad cau be reached 

 from Madras, or the West Coast: one via Erode and 

 Ammauachenoor by rail, and thence by cart or transit, ilia 

 PerreacoUum to Gudalur, at the foot of the Peermaad Ghat. 

 The ghat up is a short one, but is seldom kept in good 

 order, and though carts do go up it, the intending tra- 

 veller is advised to secure a pony for the jouruey from 

 Gudalur. The other route is by rail to Shoranoor, and 

 thence by cart or muncheel to Trichoor, from whence it is 

 easy to reach Cochin by water. From Cochin it is a 

 night's boat journey to Cottayam, and a cart road connects 

 Peermaad with Cottayam. This is perhaps the better 

 route, and certainly the more comfortable, while it has 

 the advantage of taking the traveller through two such 

 interesting places as Cochin and Cottayam ; the former 

 town so well-known for its Jewish colony, and the quaint 

 look of its old houses, and the latter for its beautiful 

 scenery, and being the head-quarters of the Syrian Church 

 and the 0. JI. Society's Travancore Mission. Cottayam 

 has a Planter's Club aud a Traveller's bungalow, aud is 

 also the head-quarters of several native officials. Carts are 

 easily secured from this to the foot of the Peermaad 

 Ghat (thirty-three miles), aud the journey is easily made in 

 a night to the village of Mundekyam. The country was 

 formerly a wild one, through which the road passes, and at 

 one time swarmed with wild animals, but beyoud jungle fowl 

 I was informed nothing could be scon since the road had 

 been opened. At the JIuudekyam resthouse, a good view 

 is obtained ot the Peermaad plateau, and soon after passing 

 the fine girder bridge spanning the Mundekyam river the 

 ascent of the ghat begins. The trace has been well carried 

 out, without a single traverse, to the top of the plateau, a 

 distance of twelve miles. About a third of the way up, I 

 noticed the remains of a deserted coffee estate, and for 

 some miles there were the traces of several abandoned 

 native estates. I passed, however, two fine properties be- 

 fore making the last rise to the plateau. Immediately after 

 passing the last estate, a fine water-fall attracts one's atten- 

 tion, and a very pretty ride through heavy forest finishes 

 the ascent. The Hope Estate was the first to come in 

 sight, and was opened in 1861. It is, with its neighbom-mg 

 estate (AToodlands) opened at the same time, still flourish- 

 ing, though both properties have long since passed out of 

 the hands of the original holders. A range of hUls beyoud 

 the Woodlands divides the district in two. Six estates are 

 situated to the north of the range (known as the Tambies) 

 and make the Perreatora group, and about a dozen proper- 

 ties make the Peermaad group to the south of the range. 

 Another group of, I believe, eight estates scattered iu the 

 valley of thePerryar make a still f urtherdivisionof the district. 

 The estates everywhere iu the three divisions appeared well 

 kept. The soil looked light, and in pai-ts ^avelly and 

 quartzy, in the Peermaad and Perreatora groups, and man- 

 uring had to be resorted to at an early age of the estates. 

 As each estate was usually surrounded by good pasture laud, 

 the expense of keeping cattle was not very great, and man- 

 uring could be done at a cheaper outlay, than in other 

 Indian coffee districts. As far as I could learn 500 tons 

 was the most the three divisions had sent down to the 

 coast in one season. The Perryar estates seemed m<ire fa- 

 vored as to soil, and from the elevation and less rainfall, ap- 

 peared better suited for coffee. While the average eleva- 

 tion of the Perryar group is about 2.500 feet, the other two 

 divisions are at least 1,000 feet higher, and more exposed, 

 aud the average rainfall is about 150 inches, against 250 

 inches on the higher estates, but while Perryar is considered 

 feverish, the higher estates are comparatively healthy, 



