Nov,  i,  1892.] 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST, 
the  altered  condition  of  affairs  in  their  countries 
brought  about  by  timely  rain,  which  reached  the 
coolies,  had  much  to  do  with  making  some  of  the 
better  class,  who  held  land,  in  their  villages  abscond. 
In  one  case,  I believe,  two  people  were  especially 
sent  up  from  the  plains  with  glowing  accounts  of  the 
change  for  the  better  that  had  taken  place  there  to 
induce  people  to  return  and  cultivate  their  holdings. 
While  we  do  not  mind  getting  rid  of  useless  coolies,  it  is 
very  annoying  to  lose  a fine  body  of  men  and  women. 
This  happened  here  very  much  to  my  surprise,  as 
the  people  were  keeping  very  well  and  appeared  to 
be  quite  contented.  Some  one  mischievously  inclined 
instilled  the  stupid  notion  into  their  heads  that  the 
maistry  would  get  all  their  pay,  and  they  would 
derive  no  benefit  by  remaining  and  working  here. 
All  that  they  could  be  told  to  the  contrary  did  not 
convince  them  and  they  went  away  in  a body,  30 
strong.  The  loss  of  the  labour  was  not  fortunately 
felt  at  all,  because  as  these  people  ran  away  there 
were  fresh  arrivals '.from  below  the  Ghauts  who  more 
than  made  up  for  the  deficiency.  We  had  the  former 
at  a time  when  other  labour  is  difficult  to  be  had 
and  this  helped  us  to  a great  extent. 
The  maistry,  or  contractor,  is  the  chief  sufferer.  The 
cost  of  taking  out  warrants  being  R4-4  per  head,  would, 
in  the  case  of  so  many  absconders  in  his  case  be  almost 
prohibitive.  Of  course  he  could  recover  the  money  from 
the  coolies  if  he  should  succeed  in  catching  them. 
Act  XIII  of  1859  would,  as  far  as  Coorg  is  con- 
cerned, work  very  satisfactorily  if  the  Police  in  the 
districts  could  be  depended  on  to  apprehend  defaulters. 
The  small  trouble  they  give  themselves  in  this  respect 
is  apparent  from  the  large  number  of  warrants  that 
are  returned  with  the  intimation  that  the  persons 
wanted  are  not  to  be  found.  Matters  are  not  much 
bettered  by  sending  some  one  to  point  them  out, 
unless,  it  is  said,  they  are  prepared  with  tips.  “ Bob- 
bies ” make  their  wishes  in  this  respect  known  by 
going  through  a pantomime  of  taking  snuff  or  some- 
thing of  that  kind!  Assertions  of  this  kind  are  very 
difficult  to  prove.  The  only  way  to  do  it  is  to  get  the 
policemen  fixed  in  a hole  by  pre-arrangement;  but 
ordinary  natives  of  the  cooly  class  are  wanting  in 
the  ingenuity  of  carrying  through  a scheme  of  the 
kind  indicated  to  a successful  issue.  The  following  is 
an  illustration  of  the  hardships  entailed  on  maistries, 
as  labour  contractors  are  called  here,  owing  to  the 
unsatisfactory  working  of  the  Act.  Some  time  last 
year  a maistry  here  took  out  a warrant  against  a de- 
faulter and  pointed  him  out  to  the  Police,  who  arrested 
him.  He  was,  however  liberated  on  another  man,  a 
Madiga,  giving  bail  for  his  appearance  on  a specified 
date  in  Court  at  Mercara.  He  did  not  turn  up  and 
the  maistry  obtained  a decree  for  R28  or  there- 
abouts against  his  surety.  There  was  nothing  gained 
by  it,  however,  as  it  was  found  that  all  the  earthly 
possessions  of  the  latter  did  not  in  value  amount  to 
anything  near  that  sum ! This  shows  the  little  in- 
terest the  Police  take  in  promoting  respect  for  the 
Law.  It  was  a palpable  neglect  of  duty,  as  no  en- 
quiries whatever  appear  to  have  been  made  as  to 
whether  the  man  was  a proper  person  to  accept  as 
bail  ; and  they  are  not  made  to  suffer  for  their  mis- 
deeds ! When  the  way  in  which  matters  stood  was 
brought  to  the  notice  of  the  Shubidar  at  Mercara, 
he  issued  another  warrant  against  the  defaulter.  He 
was  evidently  powerless  to  do  anything  more.  This 
time  the  Police  appear  to  have  been  more  careful, 
a fairly  well-to-do  gowda  being  selected  as  the  man’s 
surety,  with  the  result  that  the  former  took  good 
care  to  keep  him  company  all  the  way  up  to  Mercara 
as  the  safest  means  to  avoid  loss.  No  one  is  com- 
pelled to  take  advances.  The  maistry  seeks  them  from 
the  planter  and  the  cooly  from  the  maistry;  and  surely  it 
is  not  too  much  to  look  to  Government  for  pro- 
tection against  defaulters.  It  is,  therefore,  to  be 
hoped  that  the  powerfully  supported  Memorial  to 
the  Government  of  India  ou  the  subject  will  meet 
with  success. 
All  coolies  are,  as  I have  said,  more  or  less  in- 
sanitary in  their  habits,  and  in  order  to  enforce  the 
strict  observance  of  the  rules  for  the  better  sanita- 
tion of  cooly  lines,  drawn  up  by  Drs.  Banks  and 
Marsdeu,  it  will  be  necessary,  I am  afraid,  to  insti- 
325 
tute  a system  of  fines.  The  sunflower  plant  is  said 
to  effectually  drain  places  and  dispel  malaria;  it 
might  therefore  be  advantageously  planted  about 
cooly  lines.  It  would,  perhaps,  tend  to  keep  the 
coolies  in  better  health.  The  introduction  of  Tainil 
labour  into  South  Coorg  has  been  more  of  a success, 
I believe,  there  being  large  number  of  that  class 
of  coolies  working  contendedly  in  parts  of  the  Dis- 
trict. On  some  estates  in  North  Coorg  good  numbers 
of  Tamils  have  been  settled  for  some  years.  The 
great  thing  is  to  get  the  right  stamp  of  people. 
Efforts  in  this  direction  have,  however,  proved  so 
discouraging  that  it  would  not  be  surprising  if  they 
were  entirely  discontinued  for  the  future. 
It  is  about  time  for  Puthur  coolies,  who  began  to 
come  in  in  July,  to  return  to  their  villages  to  reap 
their  paddy.  These  coolies,  who  are  less  skilled  than 
the  Oanareee,  have  usually  enjoyed  an  advantage  over 
the  latter  in  being  allowed  extra  remuneration  in  the 
shape  of  rice  supplied  to  them  at  lower  rates  than 
those  ruling  in  the  bazaars,  or  2 annas  per  man  per 
week.  It  is  surprising  the  small  extent  of  discontent 
this  gave  rise  to  amongst  the  Canarese  and  others,  who 
seemed  to  he  quite  satisfied  that  there  were  good 
reasons  for  it,  as  the  Puthur  coolies  lived  entirely  on 
rice  and  therefore  could  not  live  as  fcheaply  as  they, 
who  are  ohiefly  raggi  consumers.  The  concession 
appears  to  have  been  made  on  European  places  with 
the  twofold  object  of  encouraging  the  people  to  become 
attaohed  to  them,  and  to  prevent  their  being  drawn 
away  by  native  landholders  who  always  allow  rice. 
Nevertheless,  it  was  an  anomaly  aud,  as  suob,  has 
been  rightly  discontinued  on  most  places  this  season, 
without,  it  is  gratifying  to  notice  any  serious 
diminution  in  their  ranks.  They  will  begin  to 
return  here  again  about  November,  when  they  some 
in  very  ueefn'ly  for  manuring  and  the  second  digging. 
Some  of  the  more  intelligent  ones  can  also  be  trained 
into  very  decent  pruners.  The  work  on  local  paddy 
fields  being  about  entirely  finished,  the  Kurumbers 
will  be  putting  in  appearance  seeking  work  on  places. 
They  are  especially  handy  at  shade  lopping.  Unfor- 
tunately their  numbers  have  been  considerably  dimi- 
nished this  side  owiug  to  the  outbreak  of  cholera  in 
the  Nellore  village  near  Suntikoppa,  those  who  did 
not  die  having  made  tracks  to  put  themselves  out  of 
the  reach  of  danger.  The  wavy  green  expanse  of  paddy 
fields  in  the  valleys  between  the  jangle-clad  hills  forms 
a beautiful  feature  in  the  landscape.  They  are 
copiously  supplied  with  water  this  Beason,  as  the  rain- 
fall bas  been  well  over  the  average.  Shade  planting 
and  lopping  forms,  it  may  safely  he  said,  an  annual 
charge  on  most  if  tot  all  places.  The  object  of  lopping 
young  growing  trees  is  to  give  them  a good  length  of 
stem  and  enable  them  to  form  thick  leafy  heads  well 
above  the  coffee.  Tbia  ensures  the  free  circulation 
of  air.  If  ths  leafy  hearts,  which  maybe  made  to 
spread  by  cutting  off  the  ends  of  "the  branches 
growing  upwards,  become  too  thick,  rendering 
parts  unwholesomely  dark,  tho  intervening 
branches  are  sometimes  cut  out  to  enable  the  sunlight 
to  penetrate  the  mass  of  foliage.  In  lopping  up  trees 
care  is  taken  to  make  them  grow  as  straight  stems  as 
possible.  It  makes  them  look  better,  aud  straight 
timber  is  obtained.  In  new  clearings,  where  much 
shide  is  not  required  during  the  early  years,  the  trees 
are  kept  continually  lopped  up  to  help  on  their  growth; 
Clearings  are  usually  planted  very  closely  with 
shade  to  get  them  soon  under  cover.  After  a time  the 
trees  that  are  in  excess  of  requirements  are  gradually 
rung  out.  Some  contend  that  trees  do  all  the  better 
if  allowed  to  grow  at  their  own  sweet  will  bud  pleasure. 
But  I believe  it  has  been  proved  otherwise  by  experi- 
ment, parts  being  left  unlopped  and  they  oompared 
very  unfavourably  with  the  parts  that  had  been  lopped. 
During  lopping  the  opportunity  is  taken  to  ring 
out  objectionable  bad  jak  trees  aud  the  older  ones 
to  make  room  for  tie  growing  good  kinds.  I have 
heard  of  trees  being  wholly  cut  down  in  Mun- 
zerabad,  Mysore.  This  must  cause  very  severe 
damage  to  the  coffee.  Here  a ring  is  cut  into  the 
stem  aud  the  trees  are  le  1 1 to  dry  standing.  As  they 
fall  to  pieces  gradually  and  do  not  all  come  down  at 
the  same  t;iuu  the  damage  is  reduced  to  a minimum. 
