290 ANAMAtAI — HIGHEK RANGES. 



the bamboo and tree jungle which -lies in the hollow between 

 the river and the ascent to Punachi, and which becomes exceed- 

 ingly thick and wet along the;, water-courses. After proceeding 

 about a mile, we ascended, by a winding bullock path, and 

 leached Punachi at 9.30 ; the ghat we calculated to be at least 

 three miles long. It is very steep, but easy enough for coolies. 

 In one or two places we dismounted ; the ponies scrambled over 

 the boulders easily, but the elephants, though lightly laden, 

 followed slowly and with difficulty, not reaching the huts till 

 near dusk. The most trying work for laden elephants is cross- 

 ing the bed of mountain streams (vide Plate IX.), as the 

 sloping boulders offer a precarious footing for these heavy ani- 

 mals. From the top of the ghat to Punachi is above three miles 

 of ascent and descent. About two miles from the top may be 

 seen a magnificent precipice (about 200 feet high). The bluff 

 rock overhanging the Torakudu river is reddish porphorite. 

 The hills, like the Nilgiris and the Coimbatore district generally, 

 consist of gneiss, and belong to the metamorphic rocks. Veins 

 of felspar and quartz were common, some of them very large, 

 crossing th& foliated gneiss at right angles. The gneiss was 

 generally of a grey colour, but in some places it was reddish* 

 No crystalline limestone, such as is found associated with the 

 gneiss in Coimbatore, was observed. 



According to instructions given by Mr Cherry, the Kaders had 

 prepared three huts and stabling for us, in an open space, about 

 50 yards east of the coffee plantation belonging to Bamasamy 

 Mudelliar. These huts were admirably constructed, much su- 

 perior to their own dwellings, and quite water-tight. The uprights 

 were made of jungle trees tied together by strips of bark, the 

 cots of bamboo, and the thatch of the glabrous leaves of a spe- 

 cies ■ of Saccharum. The coffee plantation was commenced 

 twelve years ago ; the soil is rich ; the trees are at least 14 feet 

 in height', left entirely to nature ; a beautiful stream, however, 

 is taken advantage of to irrigate the garden. The produce is 

 much smaller than it might be under systematic management. 

 There are some good teak trees standing in the middle of the 

 plantation. 



In the neighbourhood of Punachi, three or four large cattle 



