November I, 1887.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
347 
Iu due course I succeeded in raising some 000,000 
sturdy young Ohinehona plants, .ill of the succirubra 
species, in burning, clearing, and pitting sufficient 
lan l to receive these plants, and iu building a sub- 
stantial brick house on a grass ridge adjoining the 
plantation. All went well till what is called iu India 
the "bursting" of the south-west mousoon, which 
proved to be tin; herald of a series of disasters. 
In the first place, on the second or third night of 
the monsoon the corrugated iron roof of the uewly 
finished house was blown clean off ami carried right 
away into a ravine below, causing me to seek shelter 
in an out-house. The gale continued for a fort- 
night with little or no rain, so that no planting 
operations could bo undertaken. About a couple of 
acres had been planted the year previous to this with 
plants of Biiceirubra species of Cinchona purchased 
from Oovernmoiit. These had grown up into nice plants 
of over a foot iu height, but iu this gale were nearly 
all Snapped over close to the ground. This was in 
the month of July, but as no rain fell during 
that nor the succeeding two months, I had to wait 
patiently till the mouth of October, or the setting in of 
the north-east monsoon, before beginning planting 
operations. This mousoon set in indue course and prov- 
ed an excellent one for planting, so that I had no 
difficulty in putting out of the 000,000 plants before 
the rains ceased. 
After the work had been completed I began to 
consider whether a plantation of Cinchona could 
ever be raised over the whole area of the 500 acres 
that had been cleared of forest, and I came to 
the conclusion that it could not. The soil was ex- 
cellent over the whole surface, aud all other conditions 
were most favourable to the forming of a magui- 
ficent plantation. But the question of the wind 
had to be considered, and it was evident that save 
in the sheltered nooks it would be quite impossible 
to form a plantation of even stunted growth. The 
difference of elevation between the foot of the plant- 
ation aud the top ridges was as much as 700 feet, 
and the wind striking these ridges where no shelter- 
ing belts had been left came down upon the 
lantation, sweeping everything before it. Had I 
een wise I would have relinquished charge of the 
plantation after the first planting had been com- 
pleted, but I foolishly waited to see the effect of 
another monsoon on the plants I had just put 
out, hoping against hope that it might not prove 
so disastrous as" the one I had just passed through. 
The planting proved a very successful one, aud be- 
fore the following July the plants had attained an 
average height of 15 inches. The mousoou burst as 
usual about the end of June, the wind increasing 
in strength till about the 15th July, when it culmin- 
ated in the terrific gale of three days, when it 
suddenly calmed and the suu came out as bright 
ns ever. I had made it a point not to visit the 
ostato during the whole time of the storm, but 
when it ceased I had a quiet walk rouud the 
plantation to view the damage which I knew quite 
well had been done. I had put the estimate of 
damage in my own mind at a pretty high figure, but 
the result of my walk proved I had not put it 
nearly high enough, as at least 400,000 out of 
the 000,000 plants put out had been snapped off by 
the ground and were blown into the ravines below 
uud on the roads, where they lay iu wreaths wither- 
ing in the suu. The stem of the snccirubra species 
"t Cinchona is exceedingly brittle when in a young 
slate, so that the plants were not wrung about and 
thus destroyed, but snapped clean off, and the land 
Stripped and the year's woik aud expenditure nearly to- 
tallj lost I nt once communicated with the propric- 
1 "s ol the property, giving it ns my opinion 
Ui it i plantation of C'hiuehoM could not be produced 
over the whole area of the laud till Much tune as 
some sort or shelter could be raised for the due 
protection of toe plant*, and offering my resignation. 
Iu this opinion t hoy did not concur, and induce,! mo 
to remain at my POSI, which I wan sorry for afterwards. 
Young plants were raised in abundance lor three 
years iu ITWrHaston aud th*> land regularly replanted, 
tho plants n.s regularly meeting the niuju fate as' 
those of the first planting. Attempts we're made 
to grow belts of ttuealyptus globulus and Acacia 
mclanoxylon to break the wind, but only with very 
partial success, tho severe monsoon storms retarding 
their growth generally, so that the cultivation of 
Cinchona was eventually abandoned on the estate 
except in the sheltered nooks, which formed but a 
very small area in proportion to the whole laud, 
so that here was a property all but totally ruined 
by too grasping a policy iu the first instance, aud 
by a total want of knowledge or ignoring of the 
peculiarities of the climate of the d>trict, and as a 
monumeut of this false economy was left a few 
hundreds of acres of thorny scrub in place ot the 
beautiful and picturesque Shola of former days. 
The exercise of a little forethought would have pre- 
vented all this. Had the forest clothing the ridges 
been simply left as a proleetiou, the lower portions 
of the land could have been cultivated in perfect 
shelter, aud with every chance of success, but no 
cultivated plant, be it Tea, Coffee, or Cinchona, will 
evor thrive if planted in a position lully exposed to 
the heavy south-west monsoon blasts, which are 
stronger as the elevation is greater. Iu large 
blocks of forest exteuding for miles, as in the Wy- 
naad, it is very difficult to say where the wind will 
strike after say 100 acres is felled; and frequently 
mistakes of a very serious nature are made, even 
when the greatest precaution is taken beforehand ; 
hut as regards smaller isolated patches, such us are 
found on the Nilgiris, the case is different, and 
with ordinary precaution no mistakes of this nature 
need occur. At the time I write of the succirubra 
species of Chiuchona was alone planted on land un- 
der 0500 feet ; above that elevatiou the officinalis 
species with its hybirds were plauted. Since those 
days the latter has so superseded the former in 
value of bark that estates of succirubra are at the 
present moment considered of little or no value, 
from the much smaller quantity of alkaloids* found 
in the bark and the greater difficulty in their ex- 
traction. No one dreams of planting succirubra iu 
these days, and existing estates of this species I 
believe are in some cases being replanted with Tea. 
While living at Devu Jihola I had the opportunity 
of witnessing the flowering of a low shrub, a species 
of Strobilanthus, but not the same as grew amongst 
the trees of the forest. It is a low evergreen shrub 
which covers the hills for miles, and is said to 
flower only once in seven years. It has a very 
beautiful flower, blue and when in full bloom the 
appearaneo ot the hills is beyond description. After 
flowering aud ripening its seed the plant dies, but 
springs again very readily from seed, so that after 
the death of the old plants the hills are so m clothed 
again. It has been said that it is from this Sower 
that the Nilgiris get the name of the Blue Mount- 
ains, but this, of course, is only fanciful. Not far 
from Deva Sola, and at a slightly lower elev- 
ation, the wild orange tree is to bo found growing 
ou the grass hills on the edges of the Sholas. 
It is a very beautiful object when covered with 
ripe fruit and flowers. I was much struck with 
its great beauty wheu I accidentally came upon it lor 
the first time. There were many trees in small 
groups and dotted singly over the grass hills. The 
trees were rich both iu green aud ripe fruit of a 
largo size, ami the flowers were abundai.t. The gras9 
was strewn with ripu fruit, and altogether the sight 
in the wild was a very beautiful and interesting 
one. On tasting the fruit I found them bitter beyond 
expression. Another spot in this locality deserves 
mention— viz., Mailoor, which is a village about three 
miles from Dcva Shola, and possessing a very mild 
and delightful climate. A few yards from the village 
may be seen sculptured slabs of atone, which are 
involved in mystery, no one knowing who put them 
there, or why. enhancing the interest attached to 
them. Near by is a temple belonging to one of tho 
hill tribes surrounded by splendid specimens of 
* Tho smaller proportion of quinine is meant, for 
the total alkaloids iu succirubra is generally as large a* 
in officinalis. —Kb. 
i; 
