970 On Porcelain Clay found at Mangalore, ^c. [No. 120. 



Next to the climate of a country, the most important object an agri- 

 culturist has to turn his attention to, is the nature of the soils. One 

 of the most remarkable features of the Neilgherries is, the great depth 

 of soil met with, even on the highest hills. It has originated princi- 

 pally from the disintegration of the earthy felspar mentioned above, 

 which is more or less mixed with sand, is coloured with iron, and in 

 some situations, contains numerous pebbles and small fragments of 

 quartz, and of the other subjacent rocks. In some valleys, it contains a 

 certain quantity of vegetable matter ; and in many places on the 

 higher hills, a thick coat of black vegetable stuff is found principally 

 formed of decayed ferns, and which might perhaps be usefully em- 

 ployed for the amelioration of other soils. The ground is, in general, 

 easily worked, but being (as far as I can at present judge) entirely 

 deficient of lime and of every description of salt, it will probably, for 

 certain kinds of cultivation, require to be highly manured, either 

 with lime, with salts, or with vegetable and animal composts. Lime is 

 clearly indicated as a manure for the Neilgherry soils ; but the very 

 circumstance which renders it so necessary; viz. its total absence 

 among the subjacent rocks, makes it difficult to be procured. The 

 lime which is employed in building is obtained from the kunker, 

 (calcareous tufa,) which occurs in great abundance all over the plains 

 of Coimbatore ; upon analizing it, however I have found it to contain a 

 considerable quantity of magnesia, which renders it totally unfit for 

 the purposes of agriculture, nothing being so injurious to vegetation 

 as that earth. Were the distance, not too great, shells might be 

 brought from the coast to improve the soil, and sea salt, and nitre, 

 neither of which are very expensive, might prove useful. 



I need not insist on the inducements that these, and some of the 

 other hills further South* hold out to English enterprise ; since the 

 government have already by their many liberal and enlightened mea- 

 sures for their improvement, shewn themselves perfectly confident of 

 the immense advantages that must hereafter be derived from them. I 

 am led to hope, therefore, that I shall only meet the wishes of the go- 

 vernment, when I humbly beg leave to suggest, that I may be permit- 

 ted to devote part of my time to a more minute survey of them, so as 



* The Pyney and Vunhogerry mountains, which have probably an elevation of 

 from 5,0(X) to 7,000 feet above the sea. 



