MYSORE, CANARA, AND MALABAR, 391 
by defending ones little less destructive, one half at least of the CHAPTER 
inhabitants perished of absolute want, and repaid dearly for the 
miseries which they had formerly inflicted on the wretched people Jlil y 25,&c v 
of the low'er Carnatic . I do not mean, by this, to reflect on the 
noble leader of the British army : the people, every where that it 
came, seem sensible that he avoided, as much as was practicable, 
doing them any injury. 
In every Taluc, or district, where there are forests, there is a GyddaCavila , 
Gydda Cavila, who annually pays to the government a certain sum, f 0 \^ pei 0i 
and has the exclusive privilege of collecting honey, wax, and lac. 
On all such as cut timber for building their houses, he also levies 
a duty ; and all the trees, except sandal- wood, are in fact his pro- 
perty. The government ought to pay him for all the trees which 
it requires ; but this is generally omitted, an Indian government 
rarely paying for any thing which it can get by force. The keeper 
of the forest exacts also small duties on those who, without beimr 
privileged, feed their goats and cattle in the woods ; on the women, 
who collect the leaves, which are used as platters by all ranks in 
this country ; and on those who collect firewood, and grass for 
thatch. 
In this district there are many sandal wood trees; but of so bad Sandalwood 
a quality, that they are never cut. 
From the hills in this vicinity, about a hundred Maunds of lac Lac . 
(almost 24 hundred weight) are annually procured ; and there is 
more in several of the neighbouring districts, 
The bees here are of four kinds : I. That from which most of the Bees, 
honey and wax is procured, is called llegemi. This is a large bee, ' 
which builds under projections of the rocks, or in caverns. A large 
nest gives 8 Seers, Seringapatam weight, of honey =4-^%. lb., and 3 
Seers ot wax l^—.lb. A small hive gives about one third of this 
quantity. The honey is gathered twice a year, in Ashadha and 
Mdgha, or in the month following the summer solstice, and the 
second after that of winter. Some people of the Bay darn cast make 
