OCT. — MAit. 1859-60.] Parvatipore and Jeypore. 



269 



2. The soil of this country seems, near Jeypore, to be princi- 

 pally black, although I am told that red soil is as often found as 

 black. It is very productive, and where irrigated produces very 

 fine crops. The rains commence in the end of May, or beginning 

 of June, and last till the middle of October. They are not through- 

 out that time continuous, there being from time to time intervals 

 of fair weather of a week or ten days' duration. The heaviest 

 rain occurs in July, August and September. 



3. Jeypore itself is an extremely hot place, the thermometer in 

 the beginning of April standing in a Tent (Double Fly) as high 

 as 108, while in May I understand that the heat is terrific. The 

 air is more humid, and the climate much less healthy than that of 

 the elevated country just described. From sunrise to sunset the 

 haze, caused by the heat, is so dense, that large objects a mile 

 distant can only be distinguished with great difficulty. In the 

 vicinity of the town, is produced a large quantity of paddy and 

 vegetables, irrigated from a large tank of \\ mile in length, and J 

 mile in width, said to be very deep, and never known to be dry. 

 In the vicinity of the town are magnificent topes of mangoe and 

 jack trees, which seem here to thrive extremely well. On all sides 

 but one the town is surrounded by low jungle, in which grows in 

 the most luxuriant profusion that magnificent tree, the Dammer, 

 which, however, from the thickness of the jungle, and its having 

 consequently no room to grow, never attains to the dignity of more 

 than a large shrub. The inhabitants are evidently unaware of the 

 great value, not so much of the timber, for until a road be made it 

 cannot be transported to the low country as of the pitch which is de- 

 rived from the tree from a large sized tree in quantity about Smaunds 

 per annum worth 3 or 4 lis. By thinning the jungle, the trees 

 would soon grow up, a result which cannot otherwise be attained. 



4. The town of Jeypore contains, I should imagine, about 7,000 

 inhabitants, and is a most wretched place, there being scarcely 

 half a dozen tiled houses, and these of the most inferior descrip- 

 tion. The remainder of the houses are mere huts, far from be- 

 ing inhabited by artizans of all kinds as stated in the road book, 

 compiled by the Deputy Quarter Master General, there is not an 

 artizan in the place, save one carpenter, and he a Teloogoo man, 

 not a native of the country. The fact is that the wants of the 



