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318 NILGIRI HILLS. removal of only the valuable portion of the bark; (2) that all such is removed; (3) that the bark is renewed in a shorter period; (4) that the health of the tree is not affected ; and (5) that the protection of moss is not essential for renewal. It is necessary that the bark should be dried in partial shade, as the action of sunlight and exposure to the heat of a fire dissipate the alkaloids. Sheds with shelves of bamboo laths, so as to admit of a free current of air, should be erected in convenient localities. When the bark is tolerably dry, it should be placed in a room artificially heated so as to evaporate the remaining moisture in it. The room may be heated by flues or charcoal fires, but the temperature should not be permitted to rise above 100°F. Green bark of tolerably mature age loses about two-thirds of its weight in the process of drying. The best mode of packing the bark for shipment to Europe is in bags made of gunny cloth, consisting of two layers, with an intermediate coating of tar, which ensures the purpose of uniting the layers and effectually excluding moisture. Ordinary Crops.—The total area of the District is estimated at 957 square miles-678 on the plateau, 39 in the Ochterlony valley, and 240 square miles in the Wainád addition. It is not accurately known how much of this area is actually under cultivation, as, owing to the different systems upon which land is granted, the Government accounts in one case show the area of estates without reference to the extent cultivated, and in other cases the area cultivated is the only figure recorded. The Census of 1881 returned 101 square miles as 'cultivated.' A regular survey of the District has now (1883) been completed, and a revenue settlement is in progress, which is all but completed, except as regards the South-east Wainád, where the operations have not yet commenced. The Administration Report of Madras for 1882-83 returns the area actually cultivated in the Nilgiri Hills in that year at 70,153 acres. Of these, 19,851 acres are shown as under coffee, 5282 under tea, and 2522 under cinchona. Wheat occupies 6543 acres; rice, 2388 acres; ragi, 4104 acres; other cereals, 28,004 acres ; pulses, 63 acres; potatoes 801 acres; vegetables, 100 acres; onions, 194 acres; and mustard seed, 241 acres. Wages are high. An ordinary unskilled labourer earns (1883) about 8 rupees (16s.) a month; skilled labourers, 12 to 15 rupees (245. to 3os.); handicraftsmen, 25 to 35 rupees (£2, ios. to £3, ios.) when in full work. At particular seasons on the coffee and tea gardens, wages are very high, but the ordinary rate is 4 or 5 ánnis a day (od. to 7d.) for pickers. The ordinary weight for grain in the basár is a ser of about a pound and a half, or half the usual Madras measure. The prices current per maund of 80 lbs, were in 1882-83 as follows: —Rice, 75.; wheat, gs. 6d. ; ragi, 3s. 7d. ; other cereals, 2s.; potatoes,