334 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [November i, 1887, 
INDIAN EXPEEIENCES. 
(Continued from page 297 1) 
THE NEILGHBERY HILLS. 
It was at the beginning of 1867 that I left the 
Wynaad district for the first time, having obtained 
a situation on the Neilgherry Hills to superintend 
th e opening of a large Cinchona plantation at a place 
called Deva Shola, situated about ten miles to the 
south, of Ootacamund, the chief town of the Hills. 
Before, however, giving an account of my experiences 
as a Cinchona planter, I may be allowed to say a 
few words on the general aspect, climate, and cap- 
abilities of the Neilgherry range, which is without doubt 
one of the most interesting spots to be found in 
the whole of our vast Indian possessions, more especi- 
ally on account of its climate, which is so admirably 
suited to the European constitution, and producing 
in a high degree of excellence a vast number of 
trees, plants, and vegetables similar to those cultiv- 
ated in Europe. 
The Neilgherry Hills (or more correctly, Nilgiris, 
from the Tamil "nil" blue, and " giri," a mountain) 
are situated between ll p and 12° north latitude, and 76° 
and 77 ° east longitude, and range in altitude from 
6000 to about 9000 feet, above the sea level. They 
are some 250 miles from the Goromandel coast on the 
eastern side and forty miles from the Malabar coast on 
the western. The area may be roughly taken at 
1000 square miles. The Nilgiris were first visited 
by Europeans in the year 1820. They are believed 
to have formed part of the territory of the Pandyan 
kings, whose dominions included Travancore and the 
Western Ghauts. The average rainfall is 50 inches 
in the north and east, and increasing to nearly 100 
inches towards the south and north-west. The Nilgiri 
Plateau is subject to the influences of both monsoons ; 
the south-west monsoon in June, July, and August, 
and the north-east monsoon in October and November. 
The geological formation is of the primitive igneous 
order, the mass of the mountains being granitic. 
There is little or no lime in the composition of the 
soil, which nevertheless is rich and productive. The 
natural aspect is undulating, with isolated patches 
of low, but very beautiful forest, called Sholas, 
on the slopes, from the majority of which flow perennial 
streams of the purest water of more or less volume. 
There are many swampy hollows, the beds of which 
have a considerable depth of black mould, and there 
are bogs in several parts of the Hills, the peat from 
which is extensively used as fuel. The undulating 
laud, or as Sir E. Grant Dulf admirably puts it, 
the "rolling downs," separating the beautiful shola 
patches, are covered mostly with short grass, with 
here and there clumps of shrubs, such as Hypericum, 
Indigofera, &c. Splendid groups of the Rhododendron 
arboreum are frequently met with, and are very 
striking when in full flower about the month of 
December. 
The climate of the Nilgiris is invigorating, and 
has been declared by competent authorities to be 
one of the most equable in the world. The follow- 
ing is a correct statement of temperature, &c. 
Mean annual temperature . . . . 59° 
Maximum ,, .. .. 77° 
Minimum „ . . . . 38° 
Max. power sun's rays . . . . 21° 73' 
Average range . . . . . . 17° 
At Ootacamund, the loftiest and most important 
station on the Hills, according to a series of observ- 
ations extending over seven years, the mean maximum 
temperature ranges from 60'06° in December to 68 - 76° 
in May. The hottest months of the year are April 
and May ; the coldest December and January. The 
hottest hours of the day in summer and winter do 
not vary more than 9 ° and the extreme variation 
of temperature throughout the year is only 21-15°. 
The mean annual temperature of the four principal 
stations on the Nilgiris as compared with that of 
London and the three Presidency capitals of India 
stands something as follows: — London, 60°; Oota- 
camund, 57 ° * ; Kotagherry, 62° ; Wellington 62°, ; Coon- 
* There must be an error, as this is the mean of 
Nuwara Eliya, 1,000 feet lower, in an island and 5° 
nearer the equator.— Ed. 
oor, 64° ; Calcutta, 78?; Bombay, 81?; and Madras, 85-2. 
The second, third, fourth, and fifth named places are 
the mont important stations on the Nilgiris, and 
have an elevation above sea level ot 7227, 6427, 5860 
and 5927 feet respectively. 
Ootacamund is the coldest and Ooonoor the warmest 
station on the Hills, Kotagherry is a medium between 
the two. The climate of Wellington, where the ex- 
tensive convalescent barracks for the army of the 
Presidency are situated, is the same as that of Coon- 
oor. The latter station being near the edge of the 
Ghaut on the eastern side is subjected to thick fogs 
from the sudden condensation of the moisture contained 
in the heated atmosphere rising from below the table- 
land. 
This may perhaps convey to the reader some general 
idea of the adaptability of the Nilgiris to the European 
constitution. If further proof were wanted it could 
be found in the healthy and robust appearance of the 
permanent English residents on the Hills, as well as 
in the rosy cheeks and buoyant spirits of the European 
children. 
The products of the Hills include Tea, Coffee, Cinchona, 
Peaches, Oranges, Loquats, Pears, Apples, Plums, 
Potatoes of excellent quality, and most of the other 
English vegetables, which are all produced both by 
Europeans and natives of exceptionally good quality, and 
all the year round. Wheat is also grown as well as 
Barley, Mustard, Poppy seed, Garlic, two kinds of 
Millet, called in the native language Koralie and 
Samey (Panicum italicum and P. miaceum) . The last 
two are extensively grown by the native population, 
but their cultivation is of a very wasteful description. 
A piece of land is chosen, ploughed, and harrowed, 
and the seed sown, land is chosen that has not been 
under cultivation for some years, no manure is applied 
and when the crop is gathered the land is left to itself 
for perhaps three or four years before it is ploughed 
again. 
No such thing as flat land exists on the Nilgiris, 
excepting the swamps. Consequently when the land 
for the cultivation of grain is ploughed and loosened 
on the hillsides, large quantities of soil are swept 
down to the ravines below by the heavy rains. This 
denudation goes on to such an extent that I have 
seen whole hillsides rutted and furrowed to such an 
extent before the roots of the grain could make 
sufficient progress to hold it, that it seemed wonderful 
how a crop could be obtained at all. Of course it 
never enters into the native mind to construct catch 
drains or anything of that kind ; and, worse than all, 
he has no one to instruct him. This sort of thing has 
been, no doubt, going on for ages, the strata of soil 
becoming thinner and thinner and the crops shorter 
in ear and in straw year by year. 
Another plant called Keeray by the natives_ (Amar- 
anthus campestris) is grown by the hill tribes, the 
seeds of which when ground into flour is much relished. 
A large field of this plant when in full flower has a 
very striking and beautiful appearance. There are 
two varieties, one having leaves, stems, and flowers 
of a bright scarlet colour, and the other of a yellow 
or buff colour, and when mixed have a very beautiful 
appearance. The leaves are also eaten as a Spinach. 
Numbers of English flowers flourish with little or no 
cultivation, including the Dahlia, Fuchsia, Heliotrope, 
Pelargonium, Verbena, Petunia, and numerous others. 
Fuchsias and Heliotrope are greatly used in the for- 
mation of hedges, and are to be seen in flower all 
the year round, the latter particularly making a very 
beautiful hedge if kept well trimmed, the scent from 
the flowers being very powerful. It is no uncommon 
thing to see at Ooonoor and other places of the same 
elevation Pears, Apples, Plums, Oranges, Dihlias, 
Loquats, Geraniums, Coffee, many varieties of Hiluscus, 
Tea, Petunias, Allamandas, Asters, Poinsettias, Calceo- 
larias, Begonias, Rhododendrons, Lilies, Roses, and 
scores of others growing side by side and flourish- 
ing in one garden. Passittora edulis and several species 
of Taxoniaalso grow and fruit freely at these elevations. 
At lower elevation on the eastern slopes tropical fruits 
and spices are grown, such as the Nutmeg, Clove, 
Cinnamon, Mango, Shaddock, Pomegranate, Lychee, 
and many others. 
