THE HUNTING GROUNDS, ETC. 251 



light, and " leave " easily attainable. The town itself 

 stands about 1400 feet above the level of the sea, 

 in dry, well-cultivated country ; is neatly built, and 

 consists of twelve wide and well-ventilated streets. 

 Tippoo Sultan, the Rajah of Mysore, occasionally 

 resided in the old palace, the ruins of which are 

 still standin(]j, and built a handsome mosque. 



The officers' quarters are substantially built and 

 delightfully situated outside the native town, by a 

 lake three miles in length, which in the season is 

 covered with waterfowl of every description, and in 

 the reeds and paddy-fields adjoining snipe are to be 

 found in thousands. To the lover of large game 

 this station offers peculiar advantages, as the virgin 

 forest jungle surrounding the Neilgherry and Anna- 

 mullay ranges are celebrated as being the haunts of 

 all kinds of large game, besides containing abund- 

 ance of teak, (Sectona grandis^ blackwood, {Dal- 

 hergia satifolia, boxwood,) sandal-wood, (Santalum 

 album,) and other valuable timber, which is, how- 

 ever, unfortunately too remote from water-carriage 

 to permit of easy exportation. 



The end of December (when the north-east mon- 

 soon rains are over, and the sun has gained his most 

 southern declination) may be considered the coldest 

 season of the year in all those countries north of the 

 equator, for at this period the range of the ther- 

 mometer in the shade is from sixty-two to eighty 

 degrees, and the climate is there delightful, the 

 north-east wind proving enlivening and bracing, 



