1848.] 



The Neilgherry Mountai7is. 



37 



Building Materials. — (At Ootacamuncl) bricks per 1000, rupees 2; tiles 

 per ditto, rupees 1 12 ; teakwood and chunam are brought, 

 the one from Seegoor and the other from the province of Coim- 

 batoor. 



Salt Frovisions. — Hams are sold at 5 annas per lb. ; bacon at 4 annas 

 per lb. 



Butter. — Fresh, 1 rupee per pound. 



Jungle-wood. — The best description is the " Bastard cedar" which is now 

 extensively used for flooring planks and doors, shelves, &c., in 

 house building. The price is about 7 annas per 12 square 

 feet of one inch thick. Rafters, lintels, beams, &c., in pro- 

 portion. 



Bees Wax. — Unbleached, is sold by the Erulars and Coorumbers at \ 

 rupee per seer. 



Castor Oil. — Of very excellent quality is expressed here, and is sold at 3 

 annas per quart bottle, or about 1 rupee per imperial gallon. 



The prices of these articles of course differ at each of the three 

 settlement?, but the difference is slight and not worth recording in 

 this statement. 



Land is held on the Neilgherries by European 



Tenure and occupation. o x 



settlers, under a putteum or grant from Govern- 

 ment leasing it to them in perpetuity, so long as the regulated 

 assessment is paid. In the cantonment of Ootacamund grants are 

 made of the land without any fee being exacted, but beyond its 

 limits, as every spot, whether utterly barren and incapable of produc- 

 tion, or only untilled waste, is laid claim to by either the Todars, the 

 Burghers, or the Kothers, the land has to be purchased from one or 

 other of these tribes, who exact such price as they think fit. After 

 such purchase has been effected it is necessary to apply to the Col- 

 lector of the district for a putteum, or acknowledgment of right to 

 occupy and cultivate, though this may be considered a matter of 

 mere form. The tenure of land by the various Hill tribes will be 

 more fully entered on in describing each separate race of people; it 

 will therefore only be necessary to record here, for the sake of refer- 

 ence, the general circumstances which rule it. 



Todars hold tlieir land, which they consider 



Tenure of the Todars. ^ 



to extend over the whole plateau, by right of 

 immemorial occupation, alleging that their ancestors came to the Neil- 

 gherries before there were any kings or sovereign rulers in southern 

 India, and never paid tax or tribute to any one. 



