lii APPENDIX TO THE MANUAL 



No. 18. — Co2)y of a letter dated ^Oth January 1819, to the Editor of the 

 Government Gazette, 'published in the ''Madras Courier " of the 23rd 

 Fehruarij 1819. 



To THE Editor of the Government Gazette. 



Sir, — Yon sometimes give your readers notices of the thermometer 

 as it stands at Madras. They may perhaps be amused by a few obser- 

 vations of the same kind from a part of the country not more than 

 350 miles distant from the Presidency. 



The low country of Coimbatore is separated from Malabar and 

 Wynaad by a mountainous region 30 miles in length and IG in breadth, 

 and which contains about 500 square miles. It is divided into three 

 naads or countries, the Paungnaad, the Todiernaad, and the 

 Maiknaad. The name given to the whole by the lowlandcrs is 

 " Nilgerries " or the blue mountains ; this name, however, properly 

 belongs but to one part of the range, and is by the highlanders, 

 peculiarly applied to a high peak, the " Rungasawmy Coil " or 

 Nilgcrry. Two gentlemen having visited this region early in last 

 year, and having surprised their friends by the accounts they gave of it, 

 particularly of the extreme coldness of the climate, a party was formed, 

 who set out to repeat the tour on the 2nd of January. 



They left Denaigencottah (which is about ten miles from the foot of 

 the Guzzlehutty Pass, and two miles from the bottom of the Nilgcrry 

 Mountains) at G a.m. on the morning of the 2nd, and after two days' 

 painful march, reached Dernaad, the first village in the Paungnaad, on 

 the evening of the 3rd — distance about 16 miles. 



Thermometer on the 2nd at 6 a.m., 67; at 8, 71 ; at 11, 62; at 2 p.m. 

 68. On the 3rd, thermometer at 6 A.M., 52 ; at 8, 62 ; at 5 p.m., 50. 4th 

 halted at Dernaad. Thermometer at 6 a.m., 44 ; at 8, 60 ; at 3 p.m., 64 ; at 

 6, 54 ; at 8, 48. 5th. — Marched from Dernaad to Tondernaad, principal 

 village of Paungnaad, 9 miles. Thermometer at 6 a.m., 40 ; at 7, 50 ; 

 at 11, 60 ; at 2 p.m., 62 ; at 6, 50 ; at 7, 48. 6th.— Halted at Toddiernaad. 

 Thermometer at 5 a.m. near the tent 40 ; hoar frost in the valley below ; 

 the thermometer, when placed on the ground, sunk to 31 ; at 8 a.m. it 

 was 48 outside the tent ; at 9, 55 inside and 64 in the sun ; at 2 p.m., 70 

 in the sun, 58 in the shade. 7th. — Marched to Kodaramoody, a village 

 in the Toddiernaad, distance 8 miles. Thermometer at 6 a.m., 36. 

 Hard frost this morning ; the water in the chatties completely frozen 

 three-fourths of an inch round the vessels, and the thickness of a dollar 

 in the centre ; at 9 A.M. thermometer 5 1 in the shade, and 60 in the 

 sun ; at 11 in the shade 68 ; at 12, 70 in the sun ; at 2 p.m., 72 in the 

 sun; at 7, 39 ; at 8, 38; at 9, 34. 8th.— Thermometer at 6 a.m. near 

 the tent 34. A very hard frost this morning ; the water in the chatties 

 frozen, and the ice kept sufficiently well to enable us to make our wine 

 (already cool enough) colder at dinner. Thermometer at 7 a.m., 36 

 in the shade, 46 in the sun ; at 8, 50 in the sun ; at 11, 72 in the sun ; 

 at 2 p.m., 34 in the sun; at 6 p.m., 48; at 8, 34. 9th. — Marched to 



