May 2, 1892.] 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
8 og 
6th. “ Proper drainage of the road-bed will iiicrcaBC 
the life of uleepers.’' In this respect IiidisD railways 
are far ahead of those in any other ooiiutry. The 
advautages to bo derived from the use of good aloue 
ballast do not appear to bo thonughly understood 
even yet on European or American railways, although 
some of the best practical men in each country fully 
recognize its value, and have recommended its being 
adopted ss the standard whenever practicable. 
6th. “Proper care of sleeper.” The practice of 
using picks to pull sleepers into place is destructive 
of their life, for the pick not only makes 
holes that admit water into the sleepers, but 
often splits the slecprr, thus providing no avenue for 
its rapid destruction. Hooks are much better than 
picks for placing sleepers. Old spike-holes are also a 
prolido cause of decay and should be plugged with 
wood when re-spiking." The suggestions made in the 
last paragraph of Mr. Boed’s paper are deserving of 
attention, and wo believe that most railway men in 
this country are aware of the necessity of attem ing 
to such details. 
Before leaving this subject we may mention that in 
America sawn sleepers are only used when hewn 
sleepers are not procurable. Mr. W. 1). Parson. c.E., 
Engiueuc in oharga of the United States Sub-way 
Company, who has had a large amount of experience 
with wooden sleepers, says: “Hewn sleepers are pre- 
ferable because they are more durable : men of ex- 
perience in such matters claim that tho adze in hew- 
ing closes the pores of the wood, while the saw leaves 
them open to absorb moisture and hasten decay. A 
great objection to sawn sleepers is that they can bo 
made from large coarse-grained sticks, giving several 
sleepers to a section, and it is even possible to pass off 
old or dead timber when decayed portions have been 
removed by the saws.” 
In Australia also, sawn sleepers are not in favour and it 
is generally speoiRed that the logs are to bo split with 
wedges in the same manner us wooden fencing : this 
prevents cross-grain timber being nsrd. Neither split- 
ting or hewing appears to have been tried in India 
or Europe to any appreciable extent ; and if sawn 
sleepers wcio objected to, a higher piioo would pro- 
bably he d'mant'e', as there would be a great deal 
of waste with large lug if they wore split instead 
of sawn . — Indian Enginen. 
4. 
NOTES FROM YERCAUD. 
(Eiom our own Correspondetit.) 
Yercaud. March 8.— Since my last letter the stream 
of arrivals has run steadily on and the Ho 1 Hum ! Ya! 
Cum ! song of the bearers is now a daily sound. It is 
impassible not to admire the good humonr, and ge- 
neral obeeriness Of these men who, in all weathers, 
often cold, hungry, and iil-ctsd, set willingly to their 
by no means easy task ot lireasting the ghaut with 
perhaps sixteen stone of solid weight upon their should- 
ers, and lighten their way with ceaseless quip, ersuk, 
and jest. The eaaa and economy with which theSbe- 
varuys can bs reached is remarkable, and if more 
widely known would certainly oonnt much in their fa- 
vour. Leaving Madras in the evening Sooramangalum, 
or Salem, tho station for the Hills, is reached by 4 a.m. 
the next morning, giving time for a comfortable wash 
and brush up and chola hazH before the dawn appears. 
A brougham, bnllook coach, or the rapid, though loss 
luxurious, jutka, covers the ground to tho foot of tho 
Hilla in less than an honr, and the oheery bearers have 
borne tbeir burdens alolt and left the burning plains 
well behind before the power of the sun begins to make 
itself felt. Yercaud is reached easily by 9 o'clock, then 
a bath, breakfast, a siesta and lo ! wliat a obango is 
there. Can this bright, alert, cool looking individual 
be that gasping, dnat-begrimed ermturethat was called 
a Madrsssee yesterday ? If so would that his fellow 
Madrasees could see him. and do likewise 1 Onlv four- 
teen short hours since he was driving to the Central 
Station amidst noise, dust, smells and blasts of hot 
and wondering lo himsoK whether life was worth 
living. Now he 1ms no hesitation in answerieg that 
question in the allirmative. * 
If this delightful exchange can be obtained 
by one nighi’a travelling, then he is full ol pity 
for the people who go further and peihaps fare 
worse. Rarely does a visitor who comes hero 
for the first time go away disappointed, and num- 
bers aro filled with surprbe and regret that the ex- 
istence of so delightful and get-at-able a health resort 
had remained so long unknown to them. An occa- 
sional visitor from Bengal declares it to bo far superior 
in every pos.sible way to Darjeeling, and considers it 
worth the extra trouble and length uf journey to get 
here. Epidemics are almost nukoown, even the sim- 
ple one of messles, which is constantly present in 
Ooty, never appearing. The belief that the Bbevsroys 
are feverish is a popular error that has been fanned 
into faith by the willfully bought oxpirienro of the 
lew. Carelessness and imprudence will bring about 
their own results anywhere, and unfortunately people 
seem to display a larger share of both when once 
they get to the Hille. It is a common thing to see 
yonng and delioate children, sometimes fresh from 
the enervating heat of the plaine, out in damp weather 
before the heavy meroiug mists have been dispeBed, 
and again after sunaet, when except in tho dryest 
weather, it is too laic for them to be out. Exposure 
to the aim, violent exercise, neglect in ohsnging wet 
clothes, are all causes likely to act injuriously on 
frames enfeebled by residence in the plains, yet when 
they are never avoided, and illoeas follows, the cli- 
mate is blamed ! 'The residents are healthy enougli, 
but Ihnugh acclimatised, they are careful to avoid 
tho risks which somo visitors indulge in freely, and 
never have canse to complain. As elsewhere we have 
been living in dread of the arrival ol the demon in- 
fluenza, but happily have escaped so far, though it is 
amusing to sco the anxiety with which the symptoms 
of the simplest cold are watched till fnlly developed. 
The Tashildar and all his dorks happened to feel 
ill simultaneously with feverish symptoms, and the 
alarm spread like wild fire that influenza bad arrived, 
though every one looked foolish when no fre.'h cafes 
occurred, and the attack was traced to a simple, and 
natural canse. An impression exists that this is the 
begiuing of tlio moat unhealthy season of the year, 
but as a matter of faot public health is particularly 
good just now, with even fewer cases than usnal pre- 
vailing of the colds and coughs wliiob, as a rule, ac- 
company the trying changes from hot sunny dajsto 
cold dewy nights.— A/. Mail. 
^ 
INDIAN IRIlItiATION. 
Tho late Chief Secretary of Victoria, after visit- 
ing India, penned an able report np'm what he had 
noted in regard to Indian Buministtation, Summing 
up the oonolnsions at which he had arrived, the 
Uon’ble Mr. Alfred Deakin said that the legisla- 
tion of India bad not mnch to teach Australia, its 
administration little, its praciioes little, its relations 
of State department and people little, its agrionl- 
tore very little, but that India’s methods of construc- 
tion, management of canals, oi nservatiun and distribn- 
tion of water could teach Anstralia a great deal. 
Coming from the above authority and at tail end of 
a series of negatives, this remark is a high compliment 
to' those intrusted with the care of irrigation in this 
oonntry. Mr. Deakin alludes to the circam-tances under 
which irrigation began in India as not unlike Austra- 
lian cirouiustrances. But be remarks that in this ooon- 
try irrigation provides fresh food fast, only to find the 
population increasing faster, and not permanently rising 
or likely to rho. in the sooial, moral or intefleotual 
scale, to even a European alandard. He studied Indian 
irrigation as an outsider, desirous of learning what 
the system could teaoh. He alludes to Indian Engi- 
neering designs and devices as worthy of acclimatisa- 
tion in tho colonies ; and reviews the working of 
the system in a highly appreciative manner. The 
reports upon which he based his remarks have now 
beeq succeeded by olhets. But these later writings 
