MANUAL OF THE NILAGIRI DISTRICT. 477 



then, to deal with the cinchona tree. On these Hills this tree has CH. XXVII, 

 found a home equally congenial with its native habitat. Cinchona AGuicuLxnRK. 



condaminen may truly be said to flourish on these mountains 



of from 6,000 to 8,000 feet without a check, regardless of a 

 burning sun by day or ten degrees of frost by night. The bark 

 produced from this tree by skilful cultivators has in London 

 realized prices surpassing that of all other barks produced in 

 the world. Of coffee the same almost may be said of that grown 

 here, with the addition that there are numerous coffee climates 

 and numerous skilled coffee-growers in various parts of India 

 and elsewhere. Of tea it may be said that the prices realized 

 in the London market have been quite equal to those from other 

 parts, such as Darjeeling, and it only requires more skilful and 

 uniform manipulation, coupled with a larger outturn, to render 

 the Nilagiri teas famous, the climate and the soil being fully 

 equal to tea requirements. The Nilagiris may be said to export 

 nothing but the above three products and a few potatoes, the 

 export of garden produce without a railway being impracticable. 



Of garden crops, vegetable-marrows, beet-root, cauliflowers, and Garden 

 cabbages are produced in abundance and of fair flavour ; carrots crops, 

 indifferent, turnips indifferent, celery fair, not blanched enough for 

 want of sand, which is very difficult of obtainment. Rhubarb is 

 well grown in private gardens, so are marrow-fat peas. Natives 

 grow fair knol-khols, radishes, salads, broad beans and French 

 beans. These, if grown in Badaga land, are excellent ; but toma- 

 toes, cucumbers, capsicum, and sweet herbs, which would grow 

 well at Coonoor and Kalhatti, and for which there would be a large 

 demand, are quite neglected. 



In a mountainous region subject to perpetual changes of Fruit trees, 

 climate, with no settled seasons except those of wind and rain, fruit 

 has an indifferent time of it, with now a burning sun, then misty, 

 cloudy weather, then rain, next day a drying north-easter, fruit 

 knows no regular season, hence, except on a southern exposure 

 and a very sheltered spot, everything in the shape of fruit refuses 

 to ripen. Very delicate management, such as wintering trees in 

 September, pruning heavily, watering and manuring abundantly 

 may produce a crop ; but west of Ootacamand the crop, except 

 that of apples, is very problematical. Enormous crops of St. 

 Michael and Malta oranges of a fine flavour have been obtained at 

 Coonoor by skilled management — 300 dozen of oranges from a 

 single tree. Good pears have been produced on the slopes of 

 Doddabetta, also strawberries ; but it requires generations, espe- 

 cially in such a climate as the Hills, to produce a first-class fruit- 

 grower. It took three generations of Rivers', each man li\nng to 

 seventy and upwards, to produce the present Rivers, the greatest of 



