MYSORE, CANARA, AND MALABAR. 
153 
June 11. 
neighbourhood; but shall defer giving an account of the particu- CHAPTER 
lars, till I have visited some other parts of the same chain of woody 
hills, and shall be thus enabled to give at once a view of the whole. 
Owing* to the badness of the soil in the hills near Chinapatam , few 
of the trees come to great perfection. 
11th June. — I remained at Chinapatam , taking an account of the 
palm gardens in the vicinity. A tract of land runs near this from Palm gar- 
* t ^ cl Cits 
Madura towards Magadi , which is about eighteen miles in length, 
and varies from one mile to a quarter of a mile in width. The 
whole of this, except a few barren spots intersecting it, is planted 
with coco-nut and betel-nut palms. All this ground might be cul- 
tivated for rice, and has a supply of water from reservoirs; but the 
plantations are much more valuable. , 
The betel-nut palm, or Areca , called by the Mussulmans Supdri, Areca, or 
requires a rich black soil, and is planted in such places only as pro- p a ] m> 
duce water on digging a well two cubits deep. There are here two 
varieties of the Areca, the one bearing large, and the other small 
nuts. The produce of both kinds is nearly equal in value and quan- 
tity. The nut of this country is said by the people here to be as 
good as any brought to market at Madras, that from Coimbetore ex- 
cepted ; but I afterwards found that they were misinformed. 
The following account was given me, by the proprietors, of the Manner of 
manner in which they make anew betel-nut garden. betel-ma 
A plot of ground, having been selected for a nursery, is dug to garden, 
the depth of one cubit. When the seed is ripe, which happens be- 
tween the 15th of January and the 13th of February, trenches must 
be formed in the nursery a span broad, and a cubit deep. The 
trenches are half filled up with sand, on the surface of which is 
placed a row of the ripe betel-nuts. These are again covered with 
five inches of sand, and two inches of rich black mould, and watered 
once in three days for four months, at which time they are fit for 
being transplanted into the garden. 
The garden having been fenced with a hedge of Euphorbium 
Vol. I. X 
