1848.] 



Tlie Neilglierry Mountains. 



7 



Yellamullay on the western crest of the range, and, taking a west by 

 north couise towards the coast, unites itself with the Hills popularly 

 called the " Western ghauts." 



The Koondahs "^'^ ^' ^"^^^ Neilgherries, a singu- 



lar mass of mountains rises, called the Koondahs, 

 M'hich though in point of fact a portion of the great hilly region, 

 are so completely separated from the " Neilgherries proper" that they 

 merit the distinct appellation they have received. Spurs from this 

 secondary range run to the southward to a considerable extent, al- 

 most as far as the Ponany river, and it is in the innumerable vallies 

 bounded by these ridges that the magnificent virgin (forest) land is 

 found, of which I made mention in a former memoir, and which as 

 being eminently well suited for the purposes of coffee and other cul- 

 tivation, will, I feel convinced, shortly be the means of rendering this 

 district one of the most valuable and important under the Presidency. 



Eemarkahie scarci- ^'he Neilgherries, or rather the plateau formed 

 t3 oi iorest. their summits, are by no means densely wood- 



ed, the forests occurring in distinct and singularly isolated patches, 

 in hollows, on slopes, and sometimes on the very apex of a lofty hill, 

 becoming luxuriant and extensive only when they approach the crests 

 of the mountains and run along the valleys into the plains below. 

 This absence of forest in a region in which, from its position between 

 the tropics, from the abundance of moisture, and from the great 

 depth and richness of the soil, the utmost luxuriance in this respect 

 would be looked for, is very remarkable ; and leads me to conclude 

 that vast tracts of primeval forest land must have been cleared to 

 make room for cultivation at no very distant period. 



This belief is strengthened by the fact, that in all parts of the Hills 

 which are exclusively the resort of Todars, such as the elevated land 

 to the north and west of the Pykara river, the whole of the Koon- 

 dahs, the north-eastern portion of the plateau, called Kodanaad, and 

 other tracts where no cultivation is at present carried on, extensive 

 forests are found. The principal internal range on the Neilgherries 

 is a lofty mass situated in the heart of the district, and running north- 

 west and south-east, the great mountain called 



Dodabetta range. ^ ^ . ,, , i • i ^ ^.u ^ 4. n ■ 



" Dodabetta — the highest on the plateau (being 

 8.610 feet above the level of the sea,) being the apex, and from it all 

 the minor ridges and spurs which form the undulating land of the 

 Neilgherries may be said to take their rise, with the exception of the 

 " Koondahs" which have a distinct origin, and of a singular elevated 



