‘ MYSORE, CANARA, AND MALABAR. 29 
of 1799, been annexed to the British possessions, and is under the CHAPTER 
authority of Captain Graham, the collector of Khistnaghery. 
At Naiekan Eray , or the chief’s reservoir, the only remains of a Inhabitants, 
village are a ruinous Choultry , and a few wretched shops, called a 
Bazar. The houses of the cultivators are scattered about in groups 
of four or five families. The common language spoken here, as 
well as in the neighbouring parts of the Nabob's dominions, is the K 
Telinga, or Beeler as it is commonly called. The people are infinitely 
more obliging than those below the Ghats , and my servants find 
here no difficulty in procuring supplies. 
4th May. — In the morning I went from Naiekan Eray , to J enca- Appearance 
r j i ^ 
taghery , about nine miles. So far as I can judge by the view, one ° 16 ^ oun " 
half of the country has been ploughed ; of the half that has never 
been cultivated, a small part, perhaps about a tenth of the whole, 
rises into hills too steep for the plough; the remainder is gently 
swelling ground, like the rest of the country ; but the soil is very 
poor, and covered with copse, having a few large trees intermixed. 
The whole of the copse land serves for pasture, such as it is ; and 
the bushes supply the natives with fuel for their domestic pur- 
poses, for burning limestone, and for smelting iron. The bushes 
seem also to preserve a moisture in the soil, which it is alledged 
would improve it, should it ever be determined to extend cultiva- 
tion ; so that I do not think the pasture would be improved by 
clearing the country ; and the loss of fuel, and timber for country 
uses, that would be sustained by the operation,, would be of serious 
inconvenience. 
About two miles from Naiekan Eray , a torrent, in the rainy iron forges, 
season, brings down from the hills a quantity of iron ore in the form 
of black sand, which in the dry season is smelted. The operation 
is performed by Malawanlu , the Telinga name for the cast called 
Parriar by the natives of Madras. Each forge pays a certain 
quantity of iron for permission to carry on the work. 
The watered lands receive a good supply from reservoirs, con- Arable 
lands. 
