80 THE FOREST LANDS OF FINLAND. 



Mysore ; and there are patches of cultivation in Madura, 

 and in North Canara. I may observe that in granting 

 forest land it seems to me that while the destruction of 

 forests (teak, ebony, and poonspar excepted) for bona-fide 

 cultivation may be considered legitimate, yet the preser- 

 vation of the fringe along the crest of mountain ridges is 

 of special importance in a climatal point of view; and this 

 should never be given over to the axe. As these moun- 

 tain crests are not suitable for the growth of coffee the 

 restriction cannot be complained of.' And he goes on to 

 say : ' I here beg to annex extract of letter to tiie Collec- 

 tor of Coimbatore, dated 2d October 1857, which contains 

 my views in reply to a reference on this important matter: 

 " The higher sholas clothing the Ghats on both sides are 

 of the utmost importance, and the climate is believed to 

 suffer the greatest detriment from their removal. I would 

 therefore suggest that the high wooded mountain tops, 

 overhanging the low country should be preserved with 

 rigid care ; the forest there should not be given over to 

 the axe, lest the supplies of water may be injured. It is 

 the opinion of many persons, in which I concur, that the 

 vast clearings which have taken place have had a share in 

 producing the irregularity of the monsoon, which has of 

 late years been so much complained of in Coimbatore. In 

 order that the course of the rivulets should be over- 

 shadowed with trees, I conceive that the hills should be 

 left clothed to the extent of about half their height from 

 the top, leaving half the slope aiid all the valley below for 

 cultivation. This available portion would far exceed in 

 extent the higher ridges, which should be conserved. 



' " It seems to me that the immense tracts of virgin 

 forests, in the rich valleys of the Kundahs, are eminently 

 suited for coffee cultivation ; and the removal of the forest 

 there would not be attended with the same disadvantage 

 as on the eastern Ghats, where the drier climate does not 

 admit of the same efforts at speedy reproduction. If it be 

 thought desirable to lay down a general rule in regard to 

 the limits of elevation within which clearing for coffee 



