IN THE MADRAS PRESIDENCY. 17 



to a reference upon this important matter : — " The higher sholas, 

 clothing the ghats on both sides, are of the utmost importance, 

 and the climate is believed to suffer the greatest detriment from 

 their removal. I would therefore suggest that the high wooded 

 mountain tops overhanging the low country (such as Hoolicul) 

 should be preserved with rigid care ; the forest there should not 

 be given over to the axe, lest the supplies H of water may be 

 injured. It is the opinion of many persons, in which I concur, 

 that the vast clearings which have taken place have had a share 

 in producing the irregularity of the monsoon, which has of late 

 years been so much complained of in Coimbatore. In order that 

 the course of the rivulets should be overshadowed with trees, I 

 conceive that the hills should be left clothed to the extent of about 

 half of their height from the top, leaving half of the slope and all 

 the valley below for cultivation. This available portion would far 

 exceed in extent the higher ridges, which should be conserved." 

 It seems to me that the immense tracts of virgin forests in the 

 rich valleys of the Kundahs are eminently suited for coffee culti- 

 vation ; and the removal of the forest there would not be attended 

 with the same disadvantage as on the Eastern Ghats, where the 

 drier climate does not admit of the same effort at speedy repro- 

 duction. If it be desirable to lay down a general rule in regard 

 to the limits of elevation within which clearing for coffee culti- 

 vation should be allowed, I would specify from about 2500 to 

 4500 feet, this being, I understand, the extreme range within 

 which coffee planted on a large scale is found to thrive. It is 

 important to give every facility for the cultivation of coffee ; but 

 it is desirable to limit the clearings of those situations where this 

 peculiar shrub can be grown with advantage. I have observed 

 some clearings, where the ground is so precipitous that it is ex- 

 tremely improbable that the soil can last many years. It may 

 be urged that, in general, people are sufficiently alive to their 

 own interests to select only those sites which are in every way 

 eligible ; but, from the inexperience of many who embark in 

 coffee planting, it seems desirable to lay down some rule. I need 

 only point to the vast amount of land cleared and subsequently 

 abandoned, both in this country and Ceylon, either before or after 

 planting. 



