454 CANNANORE. Chap. XXVI. 



chain of western ghauts sinks down far below the chiuchona 

 zone, and north of 14° they scarcely rise above the plain of 

 Dharwar.* 



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 cocoanut- 

 trees, 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 



* Hooker's Flora Imlica, i. p. 126. 



