Travels in Peru and India by Sir Clements R. Markham

is the _cascarilla de hoja de lucma_ of the natives. Mr. Cross made no attempt to collect the seeds, as this species is comparatively worthless. [384] My collection of dried specimens is deposited in the museum and herbarium at Kew. It consists of leaves, flowers, fruit, and bark of _C. Calisaya_; leaves and flowers of _C. micrantha_; leaves and fruit of _C. Caravayensis_; fruit of _Pimentelia glomerata_; and bark from the branches of almost every species of chinchona and allied genera in the Caravayan forests. Mr. Spruce's collection of all the parts of _C. succirubra_ is in the herbarium at Kew. Mr. Pritchett's collection of leaves, fruit, and bark of _C. nitida_, _C. micrantha_, _C. Peruviana_, and _C. obovata_, is in the possession of Mr. Howard. Mr. Cross's dried specimens of leaves, flowers, fruit, and bark of _C. Condaminea_ (_C. Chahuarguera_ of Pavon), bark, leaves, and flowers of _C. crispa_ of Tafalla, and bark and leaves of _C. Lucumæfolia_, are partly in my possession, partly in that of Mr. Howard, and partly in that of Mr. Veitch. [385] Six cases of chinchona-plants from this depôt were despatched to Ceylon by the mail of March 4, 1862. [386] See Fortune's _Tea Districts_, chap. xxi. p. 358-9. [387] Mr. Cross says that Wardian cases, as they are at present constructed, are notoriously unfit for the growth of plants of any description. He adds that the plants must be healthy root and top before they are deposited in the cases. They ought to be exposed for at least a month to the full action of the sun and atmosphere, so that the juices, stems, and leaves may be fully developed and matured. Plants taken out of hothouses, or from dense forests, are not in a fit state to be sent away immediately in Wardian cases. They are then "blanched," and are easily affected by adverse influences, such as excess of moisture or drought. [388] In October, 1861, the _Schinus molle_ plants were 3 feet high; and the chirimoyas 15 inches. Plants of both have been sent to the gardens at Bangalore. [389] Seemann's _Voyage of the Herald_, i. p. 171. [390] These 11 classes are:--1. The _Kirüm Nairs_, who are agriculturists, clerks, and accountants, and do the cooking on all public occasions, a sure sign of transcendent rank. 2. The _Sudra Nairs_. 3. The _Charnadus_. 4. The _Villiums_, who are palkee-bearers to Namburis and Rajahs. 5. The _Wattacotas_, or oil-makers. 6. The _Atticourchis_, or cultivators. 7. The _Wallacutras_, or barbers. 8. The _Wallateratas_, or washermen. 9. The _Tunars_, or tailors. 10. The _Andoras_, or pot-makers. 11. The _Taragons_, or weavers, who are very low in the scale, for even a potter must purify himself if he chances to touch a weaver.--Buchanan, ii. p. 408. [391] Buchanan. [392] Temulporum and Palghaut. [393] They range from 12 to 60 reas, or 6 pies to 2 annas 5 pies per tree. [394] The value of the exported nuts, kernels, oil, and coir of the cocoanuts in 1859, was 157,995_l._ [395] Drury's _Useful Plants of India_. [396] The best soil for ginger-cultivation is red earth free from gravel. At the commencement of the monsoon beds of 10 or 12 feet by 3 or 4 are formed, in which holes are dug a foot apart, which are filled with manure. The roots, hitherto carefully buried under sheds, are dug out, chipped into suitable sizes for planting (1-1/2 to 2 inches long), and buried in the holes. The bed is then covered with a thick layer of green leaves, which serve as manure, while they keep the beds from too much dampness. Rain is requisite, but the beds must be kept from inundation, and drains are therefore cut between them. The roots or rhizomes, when old, are scalded, scraped, and dried, and thus form the white ginger of commerce.--Drury's _Useful Plants of India_. [397] The tallipot or fan-palm (_Corypha umbraculifera_) has a stem 60 or 70 feet high, crowned with enormous fan-shaped leaves, with 40 or 50 pairs of segments. These fronds, when dried, are very strong, and are used for hats and umbrellas. The petiole is seven feet long, and the blade six feet long and thirteen feet broad. [398] The sumach-tree (_Cæsalpinia coriaria_) was introduced into India from America, by Dr. Wallich, in 1842. The pods are much used for tanning purposes. [399] _Nil_, blue, and _giri_, a mountain; from the blue _Justitias_ which cover many of the hill-slopes. [400] _Report of Captain J. Ouchterlony, Superintendent of the Neilgherry Survey in 1848._ [401] Ferdosi. [402] Dr. Wight says that this plant might be collected in vast quantities with little trouble or expense, and yields an excellent red dye. [403] This nettle is frequent all over the higher ranges of the Neilgherries. The bark yields a fine strong fibre, which the natives obtain by first boiling the whole plant, to deprive it of its virulently-stinging properties, and then peeling the stalks. The textile material thus obtained is of great delicacy and strength.--Wight's _Spicelegium Neilgherense_. The fibre of the Neilgherry nettle is worth 200_l._ a ton in England, and its cultivation is likely to be a remunerative speculation. [404] _Tribes inhabiting the Neilgherry Hills, from the rough Notes of a German Missionary._ (Madras, 1856.) [405] _Vocabulary of the Dialect spoken by the Todars of the Nilagiri Mountains_, by the Rev. F. Metz, of the German Evangelical Mission. (Madras, 1857.) [406] _Antiquities of the Neilgherry Hills_, by Captain H. Congreve,