184549.] DR. WIGHT'S FOUR YEARS IN COIMBATORE. 63 



found that all the high land was a barren waste, and that all CHAP. 



the low land was under water. Accordingly Mr. Finnie was 



directed to proceed to the district of Tinnevelly in the South, 

 and to carry out operations there. Here it will be advisable 

 to leave him, and return to Dr. Wight at Coimbatore. In- 

 deed, the story of the proceedings of the next four years, that 

 is from 1845 to 1849, naturally divides itself into two parts ; 

 and therefore the present chapter will comprise a 

 narrative of Dr. Wight's operations in Coimbatore, whilst 

 the succeeding chapter will contain a similar narrative of 

 Mr. Finnie's proceedings in Tinnevelly. 



Dr- Wight's New Cotton Farms in Coimbatore, 90 

 1845 : four points neglected in the previous experi- Dr Wil , ht>s . 



ments. During the four years that Dr. Wight and the Ame- i e a "* r ' fm. 

 rican Planters had been carrying on the experimental cul- turV (185?) 

 ture at Coimbatore, four points had been neglected, which p> 

 however were now duly apprehended : viz. 



1 st. The necessity for a rotation of crops. 



2nd. The fertilizing effect of repeated ploughing prior 

 to sowing. 



3rd. The influence of both monsoons. 



4th. The superiority of Brown Sandy Loams (Red lands) 

 for American Cotton. 



As regards the first and second points, the Native method 

 of cultivation had been superior to that pursued by Dr. 

 Wight. The Natives never dr-ew two consecutive crops of 

 Cotton from the same land ; and therefore we re enabled to 

 commence ploughing with the May rains, a process which 

 they termed cooling the ground ; and thus they succeeded 

 in getting their lands into a good condition before the com- 

 mencement of the sowing season in October. Dr. Wight, on 

 the other hand, had been cultivating the same lands every 



