HONAMA AND HIS MEN. 65 



sufficient dimensions for a repetition of 

 the felling and burning. This kind of 

 cultivation was called " coomeri," and 

 though seemingly wasteful, suited the 

 conditions under which a sparse popu- 

 lation contended with the ever en- 

 croaching forest. 



Such a life necessarily familiarized 

 the Canarese ryot with every glade and 

 hill and valley within many miles of his 

 home, and acquainted him with the 

 habits of the wild creatures which 

 harboured there, making him by habit, 

 as well as taste, a practised shikari. 

 Honama and his men always accom- 

 panied me on my beats for bison, elk, 

 or deer, and I sometimes joined them 

 when they took out their nets to hunt 

 on their own account. On these occa- 



