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The Zemindar of Etaiyapuram, who belongs to the ancient stock of a Hindu family that furnished to the country warriors and statesmen, has inherited all the noble and generous qualities that characterised his ancestors, and is now in the highest estimation of the Government of Madras; and, as his sentiments are guided by justice and moderation, he is most loved by his ryots.

The ancient Zemindari of Ettayapuram consists at present of Ettayapuram proper, Nagalapuram, Golwarpati, part of Elayarampannai, and Sundarapachayapuram, in the Tinnevelly District, and Vallanadhi Division of the Gandamanaickanoor Zemindari in the Madura District, purchased by the Court of Wards in 1896.

The total area of the Zemindari is 647 square miles or 415,428 acres approximately; of this extent, the cultivable area is 374,441 acres, and the rest consists of waste lands, and hill and forest tracts.

The nature of the soil is rich black cotton interspersed with red loam here and there. The approximate annual revenue is 415,000 Es. and the annual Peishcush is Rs. 135,000 The chief crops are cotton, cumbu, and cholam. Out of 60 lakhs worth of cotton annually grown in the Tinnevelly District, 30 lakhs worth is grown in the Zemindari.

The hill and forest tracts are game preserves. The greatest and most important of them is the Kurumalai reserve, nearly 3 miles east of the Kumarapuram station