March 1, 1904.J THE TROPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST. 
587 
HILL FORESTS OP NORTH COIM- 
BATORE. 
By a. W. Ijushington. 
The forest reserves of the Northfrn, or hill ranges of 
north Coimbatore have the following areas : — 
Acres. 
Doddasatupagai, its 
extension, and 
(ialigi ^alao an ex- 
tension) 
Bailor, Odayarpala- 
yam Jadatalahalla 
and Dodda lada- 
vadi (Sandal) 
Chikkailur 
^eddaralli, Hanur, 
and Karudhalli .. 188,480 
Maddeawaiaunialai. 157,440 
65,111 
1,877 
.'i3,760 
Acres 466,662 Kollegal 
or eq. m. ^ 
729 
126,421 
58,240 
191,960 
10,677 j 
Acres 184,661 1 Talamala 
or sq. m. t Raoge. 
288. 
Acres 202,637 | 
or eq. m. 
317. 
Sattya. 
mangalam 
Range. 
,g„ ^(,,1 Acies 223,025 I Bhavani 
24,320 J 
Talamalai, its exten- 
sion, Sirganhalli, 
and Akkajorai 
11 g i r i Eastern 
slopes . . 
Gutialatar, its ex- 
tensions, and en- 
closed reserves 
(Oesmalam, Ulle- 
palayam Barebet- 
ta). 
Vellamnndi 
North Bargur and 
Pi^mavakarai 
South Bargur 
Palamalai 
The Palamalai reserve forma an isolated hill range 
on the banks of the Oauvery river, rising to 4,924 feet 
abave sea-level, the plains at the foot being about 750 
feet above sea-level. With this exception, and that 
some («.(/., UUepalayam and Barebetta) have been 
formed within areas left originally inside others as 
enclosnres, all the other reserves join one another in a 
continaous mass of forest. Talamalai joias the north of 
the Nilgiri eastern slopes; Gutialatar joins the east of 
Talamalai ; Doddasampagai joins the north of Gntiala- 
tur ; Yeddaralli joins the north of Gntialatur and east 
of Doddasampagai ; Haniir joiua the north of Yedda- 
ralli ; Maddeswavanmalai juins the north-east of 
Yeddaralli ; Kavadhalli joins the west of Maideswaran- 
malai and the north of Yeddaralli, Chikkiilnr joins the 
west oi Maddeswaranmalai and north of Kavadhalli ; 
North Bargar joins the south of Maddeswaranmalai 
and the east of Yeddaralli ; South Bargar joins the 
south of North Bargar and the east of Gutialatar ; 
whilst Tamarabarai lies between North and South 
Barpur, joining the former on the south and the latter 
on the north. Without enclosnres the forest area of 
these reserves amounts to 1,673 square miles. This 
does not include Erode range, which consists of purely 
plain forest ; but which belongs to North Coimbatore, 
and has a forest area of 2( square miles, lying in three 
different taluks (Erode, Karur, and Dharapuram). 
NATURE or THE COUNTRY. 
Talamalai is the westernmost, Bhavani the eastern- 
most, and Kollegal the northernmost range; Sattyaman- 
galam range lies eaet of Talamalai, south of Kollegal, 
and west of Bhavani Range. Talamalai range is 
bounded on the east and noith by Nilgiri district and 
Mysore ; Kollegal, on west and north by Mysore, and 
east by S»lem district ; Bhavani, on the east by Salem 
district. The hills form generallj' a series of plateau, 
ranging from 2,500 to 6,000 feet above sea level, often 
intersected with deep ravines, and generally witb steep 
gradients to the plateau above, the gradients ranging 
from 1 in 3 to 1 in 10. Besides being broken up with 
ravines, the plateaux often are made still less level 
74 
by some portions being projected upwards as small 
hills above the general level. Almost all the hill 
ranges run north and south ; the streams sometimes 
run north and south, sometimes east and west. After 
getting above ghats, the general slope of the country ia 
towards the north or north-east ; and the slopes 
towards that side are comparatively gentle, whilst 
towards the south they ace steep. Below ghats, the 
general slope of the country is towards the east, all 
the drainage running into the Cauvery river. All the 
drainage above ghats also runs into the Cauvery liver, 
which forms the north and eastern boundary of 
Kollegal, and eastern boundary of Bhavani taluk. The 
principal affluent of the Cauvery, just below ghats, is 
the Bhavani river, which flows at the foot of the Nil- 
giri eastern slopes, Gutialatur and South Bargur 
reserves, and flows into the Cauvery at the town of 
Bhavani. The Mayar flows between the Nilgiri eastern 
slopes and Tal.imalai reserve", and joins the Bhavani 
nea • Kottamangalam, 10 miles west of Sattyamangalam, 
The Pillar forms the boundary first betiveen Gutialatur 
(and Sattvamaugalam taluk) and South Bargur (Bha- 
vani taluk) ; then between Yeddaralli (Kollegal^ and 
North Bargur (Bhavani); finally between Maddliea- 
waranmalai (Kollegal) and north Bargur (Bhavani). 
Several fairly large streams from the Sattyamangalam 
and Kollegal hills flow into the Palar. The Gundila, 
a perennial stream, flows northward from the Dod- 
dasampagai hills into the Cauvery ; and in the 
Haasanur valley several streams (the most important 
of which are the Mincliigali and Mavahalla streams) 
flow into Mysore, and thence into the Cauvery, The 
Sigatti nalla forms the boundary on the west between 
Talamalai and Mysore, and falls into the Mayar. 
TALAMALAI RANGE. 
The Nilgiri eastern slopes form a plateau about 
5,000 feet above sea level, sloping to the north into 
the Mayar, to the east and south into the Bhavani 
river, forming thereby a horseshoe. The Talamalai 
reserve forms a central plateau of 3,000 feet, sloping 
northwards to Mysore gently, and steeply southwards 
into the Mayar, with hilly plateaux, east and west of 
the central one, of some 4,000 feet. 
SATTYAMANGALAM BANGE. 
Adjoining the TaHmalai eastern hill plateau is the 
small Hassanur plateau, about 4 miles square. East, 
south and north of this, and adjoining the Talamalai 
eastern hill plateau at Dimbham at the top of the 
ghats, is a plateau of about 4,000 feet (Aiyangiri, 
Doddabetta and Kotriboli, being hills of upwards of 
5,000 feet projecting from it) which may be called the 
Geddesala plateau, and includes the Minchignli 
plateau ; this extends northwards from Dimbham, 
about 20 miles, and is on the average about 6 miles 
broad, but the Minchignli plateau, which adjoins 
this between the Hassanur plateau and Mysore, is 
about 7 miles long and 6 wide. East of the Geddesala 
plateau is the Yekkatur plateau, 10 miles from east 
to west by 6 miles from south to north, falling from 
2,900 feet on the south-west to 1,000 feet on the north- 
east. East of this is the Guodri platean, about 3,500 
feet, extending about 6 miles each way, and terminat- 
ing on the south and south-east in high hills of 5,000 to 
5,500 feet, ( Yeggaribetta, Malliammadurgam, Uru- 
gamalai and Kambatrayanj. South of the Geddesala, 
Yekkatur and Gundri plateau, the hills slope away 
abruptly to the plains. North of the Gundri, Yekkatur 
and Geddesala plateau is the Germalam pluteau of 
about 3,500 feet, about 12 miles east and west, by 4 
miles. 
KOLLEGAL RANGE. 
North of the eastern end of Germalam platean are 
the Yeddaralli and Hanur reserves, a very much broken 
up plateau of about 3, .500 feet ; whilst west of it is the 
Bailur plateau, falling from about 3,200 feet on the 
south to 2,000 feet on the north, about 12 miles long, 
north and south, and 3 miles wide. The Doddasam- 
pagai reserve comes west of this with two ranges of 
hills (half of the western belongs to Mysore) jvarying 
