October VI, 1887. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
359 
Government from the neighbouring forests at the rate of 1^ rupee, or 3s. 
per 1000 lbs., or say 6s. 9d, per ton, the planters cutting, stacking, and 
removing it from the forests to their plantations. Fuel used in the 
manufacture of Tea is supplied by the Forest Department on the same 
terms. It should be also borne in mind that most of the planters on 
the Nilgiris have had to contend with the mistake of having planted at 
the outset large quantities of the succirubra species of Chinchona, the 
bark from which is now of little marketable value, and to rectify this 
mistake by the substitution of trees which produce more valuable barks, 
causes great labour and expense. As bearing on this point, I quote the 
following extract from a letter just received from a Nilgiri planter of 
great experience. 
“ Government show great want of thought. They are themselves 
large growers of Chinchona, and well know that only the richest barks 
will pay to send home, yet they have just added another tax to the 
already overtaxed planter in the shape of a grazing duty. For each 
cow or bullock grazing on Government waste lands the tax is 8 annas, 
or Is. per head per annum ; buffaloes twice the above rate, while goats 
are not allowed at all. We have in addition land tax, road cess, village 
service tax, tax on grass and all forest produce, and between Neddi- 
wattum and Mettapollium railway station, a distance of some forty 
miles, no less than six toll gates. How we are to carry on under such 
unfavourable circumstances remains to be seen. Government have 
again started the manufacturing of febrifuges for the supply of their 
dispensaries, and by doing this they argue that they are not placing 
themselves in competition with private growers, forgetting that these 
febrifuges, if used, displace so much of those manufactured from 
privately grown barks.” 
Large tracts of land are now under Chinchona cultivation on the 
Nilgiris. In addition to private plantations companies have been formed, 
and in one instance as many as 22 lacs, or 2,200,000 plants have been 
put down on one property. The plants are usually planted 4 feet by 
4 feet apart, and in three or four years the plantation becomes almost a 
thicket, and has a very pretty appearance. It would seem that the 
success of Chinchona planting in India is about to prove its ruin. 
Over-production has brought down prices to such an extent that 
unless some new use be found for the bark and its extracts, it is feared 
that many planters may not be able to hold out much longer. Quinine, 
I believe, is now selling at from 2s. 6d. to 3s. p r oz , which ten 
years ago fetched £1 per oz.. or nearly so. So far as the plateau 
of the Nilgiris is concerned, should planters be compelled to relin¬ 
quish the further cultivation of Chinchona, the land would still be 
available for Tea and other products, winch is not the case with Coffee 
land at a lower elevation. At this juncture of the planting industry in 
South India, it is worth consideration if it would not be profitable to 
encourage the settlement of European families in such splendid climates 
as those of the higher ranges of the Madras hills, where abundance of 
waste land is to be found, and where profitable employment might be 
found in its cultivation. The speculative system of land cultivation in 
South India has had a long and exhaustive trial, and has proved beyond 
question an utter failure. Why, then, not give th ; allotment or small 
holding system, a trial which has proved such a blessing to France and 
many other European countries ? Here is a district of Madras possess¬ 
ing a climate admirably suited to the European constitution, where 
fever, cholera, and other diseases of the plains are unknown, and where 
Englishmen may work all day in the open without the fear of sunstroke, 
and where thousands of acres of rich land are lying waste. 
The cultivation of Tea has made rapid strides in late years on the 
Nilgiris, but, as with Chinchona, mistakes of a serious nature were 
made at the beginning of the experiment. A large area was planted 
at too great an elevation, consequently the growth of the plant was 
very slow, and the yield of leaf very unsatisfactory. A large number 
of estates, however, now exist at elevations of not more than 6000 feet 
above sea level, and these have given satisfactory yield of leaf, which, 
when manufactured into Tea, is found to be second to none grown in 
India, and is not so well known in the London market as it deserves to 
be. The Tea shrub seems to have fewer insect and other enemies than 
Coffee, and it is not at all unlikely that ere long a large area of land in 
Southern India will be under the cultivation of Tea if the present waste 
land rules are relaxed. Coffee on the Nilgiris is p rhaps the finest in 
South India. Grown at a greater elevation than the neighbouring dis¬ 
tricts of Wynaad and Coorg the trees present a much more sturdy and 
robust appearance, and are longer lived. Elevation, however, has not 
been a protection against the ravages of leaf disease, at the same time 
the after effects on the plants do not seem to be as severe as on 
estates at a lower elevation. There is a good d al of Coffee on the 
Nilgiris grown at an elevation of from 4500 to 6000 feet, and on one 
estate I have seen Coffee growing up to 7000 feet elevation, and where 
the trees in some seasons were cut by frost. Coffee from these eleva¬ 
tions is of excellent quality, and fetches high prices in the London 
market. Before the advent of leaf disease the numerous Coffe < 
estates situated near the top of the Cixmoor Ghaut, or pass leading to 
the low country, were a splendid sight. One side of the valley was y 
clothed with the dark green of the Coffee shrub for several miles in ex¬ 
tent, and as at this elevation drought had not such an effect upon them 
as on trees at a lower elevation, they were always fresh and green 
winter and summer. The trees were of immense size, and yielded under 
high cultivation splendid crops. In addition to this the climate is good, 
and the surrounding scenery superb, making a planter’s life in this 
locality truly enjoyable. 
A few words regarding the inhabitants of the Nilgiris may not be 
uninteresting. The tribes are five in number—viz., Todas, Badagas’ 
Irulars, Koorumbers, and Enters. The first named is, perhaps, the most 
interesting of the five. They are said to have been the first that settled 
on the hills, but whence they came is a mystery, as there is no other 
native tribe in South India bearing the slightest resemblance to them in 
physical appearance, language, or customs. They are fine handsome 
men with glossy black hair and beards. They never wear any covering 
for the head save what Nature has provided. Their only garment is a 
thick cotton plaid or toga, which is thrown over the right shoulder, falls 
over the left arm, and covers the body almost to the knees. This they 
wear night and day, and it is said the Toda never washes from the 
cradle to the grave. They number under a thousand souls, and their 
“ rounds,” or hamlets, numb.r about a hundred scattered over the 
plateau. A Toda’s dwelling is a hut resembling in appearance the top 
of an English waggon of the olden time placed on the ground. It is 
thatched with grass and shaven in a wonderfully neat manner. They 
are a pastoral race, and of a very peaceful character. They possess 
large herds of magnificent buffaloes from which they derive excellent 
milk. Until very recently they never performed work of any kind, save 
that in connection with the grazing of their herds, Ac., but now, I 
believe, some few are willing to work on the Chinchona plantations. 
This tribe shift their hamlets from time to time, and, what is very curious, 
invariably choosing spots for the erection of their huts of the most 
beautiful and picturesque description, close to some charming wood and 
running stream of the purest water. Their huts have no windows, and 
the doors are never high r than 2 feet, so that the occupiers have to 
enter on “ all fours.” 
The Badagas are the most numerous tribe on the Hills, and are the 
original cultivators of the soil. These men are largely employed by 
Europeans as “estate coolies,” and are excellent workers. They are 
supposed to have come from the southern parts of Mysore and Canara, 
being allowed to settle by the Todas, who were at that time the lords of 
the soil, upon conditions that they should yearly supply to their masters 
a certain number of measures of grain of various kinds, which contract 
is carried out most religiously to the present day, although originally 
entered into doubtless some centuries ago. The Badaga villages are 
neatlj 7 built, many of the houses being of brick and roofed with tiles. 
They are an industrious tribe, and cultivate many roots and grains, 
including Wheat, Barley, Peas, Onions, and Potatoes. They possess large 
herds of cattle, which are, however, of an inferior breed. They frequently 
plough with a bullock and a buffalo, and according to their proverb, 
“ the bullock pulls for the hill side, and the buffalo for the swamp.” 
The Poppy is cultivated by the Badagas, and the brown juice dried and 
solidified, is eaten to some extent, and sold. This tribe is sub-divided 
into numerous castes, the highest being strict vegetarians, whilst the 
lower grades will eat any flesh they can get, save that of the cow. They 
differ in complexion from very dark to very light. 
The Koorumbers are a tribe of mountaineers not very numerous. 
They are regarded by the Badagas with great superstition, the latter 
believing that the Koorumbers have possession of certain magical arts, 
which they can use with fatal effect against whomsoever they choose. 
The Koorumbers are regarded as priests whose presence is essential at 
every sacrifice, and whose occult power alone can remove calamity. 
They are paid in cash and kind by Badagas and others, who do not 
scruple to pay them after another fashion when they fail by means of 
herbs, gums, charms, &c., to cure the sickness or take away the curse. 
When Badags begin to break up the fallow ground the Koorumber must 
slay a kid to propitiate Ceres (Bhud^vy), hold the first plough at start¬ 
ing, and throw the first handful of seed. So also, when crops ripen to 
the sickle, the Koorumber must cut the first sheaf. 
The Koters are a race of people who are said to come next to the 
Todas in priority of occupation of the Hills, and of all the Hill tribes 
are the most clever. The Koter is a curious character, or rather com¬ 
bination of characters. He is blacksmith, whitesmith, goldsmith, silver 
smith, carpenter, tanner, currier, roper, potter, barber, washerman, and 
cultivator, in fact “Jack of all trades, and master of none.” Yet he is 
master of the situation, equal to it, and has been so for generations. 
The other tribes cannot possibly do without him. The Koter is a man 
of no caste, corresponding with the pariah of the plains. He will eat 
almost anything. His habits are dirty in the extreme, and his village is 
constantly surrounded by immense flocks of vultures, kites, and crows. 
—Planter. 
(To be continued.) 
The weather in the northern part of the kingdom has been 
rather winterly, snow having fallen in several districts. In the neigh¬ 
bourhood of London there have been several sharp frosts, 10° to 14° 
having been registered, but there has been no snow, and the weather 
continues dry and bright in the daytime. 
- Writing under date, October 18th, a correspondent states that 
