Chap. XXIII. SITES FOR CHINCHONA-PLANTATIONP. 389 



easily procurable. Keturniiig to Ootaeamund we rode up 

 to a Todar-mund, where something unusual had evidently 

 occurred. About thirty Todars were walking in a line through 

 the forest glades below, and several jackals were prowling 

 about in the broad daylight. We afterwards heard that a 

 huge tiger had killed one of the Todar buffaloes that morn- 

 ing, and retreated into the shola on the ed^e of which we 

 had just had luncheon. They expected him to come out at 

 sunset for his supper. 



We continued our excursion to the summit of the Kal- 

 hutty peak, overlooking the Seegoor ghaut, whence several 

 fine tracts of forest-land slope down ; but Neddiwuttum was 

 decidedly preferable in every respect to all the localities which 

 we examined on the northern side of the Neilgherries, and 

 to the eastward of that site. The part of the hills on the south, 

 towards Coonoor and Kotergherry, was out of the question on 

 account of the summer drought, as it is completely screened 

 from the south-west monsoon by the spurs from the Dodabetta 

 peak ; and the forests towards the Sispara gliaut, being too far 

 west to receive moistm*e from the north-east monsoon, were 

 not so good as Neddiwuttum, at least for a first experiment. 



When the success of the chinchona culture on the 400 acres 

 of the Neddiwuttum plantation is fully established, the expe- 

 riment may then be extended to the east and west, both by 

 Government and through private enterprise ; and these pre- 

 cious barks may be expected to yield remunerative profits to 

 European speculators, while they will at the same time confer 

 an inestimable blessiug on the native population. 



Everything, however, depends upon the method which is 

 adopted for the cultivation of the chinchona-plants in the 

 experimental plantations ; and, in a future chapter, I propose 

 to give a detailed account of the course of events, as regards 

 the chinchona-plants on the Neilgherry hUls, up to the latest 

 date. 



