INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 123 



narrowing of the land and the lower elevation of the moun- 

 tains. The humidity^ however, continues excessive. At Cape 

 Comorin the amount of rain is only 30 inches. To the north- 

 ward, in Canara, the climate is drier, especially in winter, and 

 the hills are less elevated. During the north-east monsoon, 

 from January to April, which includes the hottest season of 

 the year throughout the province, irregular winds and showers 

 prevail everywhere, except opposite Coimhator, where, from 

 the great depression in the mountains, dry winds are at that 

 season not unfrequent. 



From the humid character of the Malabar climate, its lux- 

 uriant vegetation might be inferred. Hamilton tells us that 

 it resembles Bengal in verdure, but has loftier trees and more 

 Palms : the shores are skirted with Cocoa-nuts, and the vil- 

 lages surrounded with groves of Betel-nut Palms and TaHpots. 

 Vateria Indica, a noble Dipterocarpous tree, is abundantly 

 planted in many parts ; Cassia, Pepper, and Cardamoms flou- 

 rish wild in the jungles, and form staple products for export. 

 The fact that the Pepper is cultivated without the screens 

 used in other parts of India, to preserve a humid atmosphere 

 about it, is the best proof of the dampness and equability of 

 the climate. The low valleys are richly clothed with rice- 

 fields, and the hill-sides with millets and other dry crops, 

 whilst the gorges and slopes of the loftier mountains are co- 

 vered with a dense and luxuriant forest. 



The mass of the Flora is Malayan, and identical with that 

 of Ceylon, and many of the species are further common to the 

 Khasia and the base of the Himalaya. Teak is found abun- 

 dantly in the forests, but the Sandal-wood occiu-s only on the 

 east and dry flanks of the chain. Oaks and ConifercR are 

 wholly unknown in Malabar, but the common Bengal Willow 

 {Salix tetrasperma) grows on the hills. Gnetum and Cycas 

 both occur, the former abundantly. 



The mountain-chain which forms the eastern boundary of 

 Malabar, separating it from Mysore and the Carnatic, has, 

 except on the eastern slopes of the most lofty parts, a very 



