8 
A JOURNEY FROM MADRAS THROUGH 
CHAPTER 
I. 
Appearance 
of the coun- 
try. 
Water. 
Oils used tn 
the Jagkire. 
April %5th. — Early in the morning I went from Sri Permaturu 
to an inn, or Choultry , erected by Vira Permal Pillay , who was Du- 
bash to Sir Charles Oakley. The country is high and barren, like 
that eastward of Sri Permaturu , but it has more Palmira trees, and in 
the neighbourhood of several tanks have been planted tamarind, 
Pipal ( Ficus religiosa ), Banyan (Ficus indica ), and mast trees (Umria 
altissima), all of which thrive well, if they are watered for two 
or three years after being planted. The only trees that grow 
spontaneously are, the Melia azadirachta, and the Robinia mitis ; 
the last of which flourishes both on the arid hills of the Carnatic , 
and on the muddy banks of the Ganges . Very little of this soil, 
at the usual rent, will repay the expence of cultivation ; and in the 
present state of population it perhaps would not be proper to let 
it low, as by that means useful labourers might be taken away from 
more valuable lands. The same reason prevents the fields near the 
inn from being cultivated. They are level, but too poor to pro- 
duce rice. The inhabitants would willingly bring them into cul- 
tivation for dry grains , were they allowed the two first years free 
of rent: but then part of the rice fields must remain unculti- 
vated. 
The only good water in this neighbourhood is the rain preserved 
in Tanks. That, which is found in wells, is by the natives called salt, 
although the quantity of muriate of soda contained in it is very 
small. 
The oil chiefly used here, both for food and unguent, is that of 
Sesamum , by the English called Gingeli, or sweet oil ; a few indi- 
viduals use the oil of the cocoa-nut. At Madras this last is much 
employed for the lamp ; but in the country the natives make othei 
oils serve for this purpose. 
The oils used in the Company’s Jaghire, or district immediately 
surrounding Madras , are the following : 
Taynga any, oil of the cocoa-nut. 
Nulla any , oil of the sesamum. 
. 
