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 commissariat department admit of it, the traveller will do well to halt a few days at Sispara, for the scenery around it is exceedingly grand. This route is not practicable for carriages, but well adapted for riding.

5. CLIMATE.—The elevation of Dodabetta, the highest point of the Neilgherries,is 8,730 feet above the sea, and of the lake at Ootacamund, 7,361 feet; and few of the houses stand more than 500 feet above the level of the lake. The average height of the barometer is 23 inches; average fall of annual rain, 50 inches; average temperature, 58°; the extremes of heat being 32° and 77°. Hoar frost lies white in the morning during November, December, January and February; and people ride and walk about at all hours during the day, in the hottest weather without apprehension from the sun;warm clothing is worn at all seasons, a turf and wood fire after dark, and a couple of English blankets at night are at all times welcome; mosquito-curtains are unknown, and other domestic insects give no annoyance. Few climates in the world are more equable throughout the year,than the Neilgherries, equally removed from the winter and rough weather of our northern Sanataria, and the scorching heat of the plains. Indeed, there is a buoyancy and exhilaration in the air which is quite delightful, and the spirits of the invalid rise, and the elasticity