But on the eastern side of the passes
the rainfall gradually diminishes, and at a distance of about six or seven
miles from the crests of the Ghauts the coffee zone commences, and
stretches inland to varying distances from the Ghauts till the forest
region gradually dies away into the wide-spreading plains of the interior
of the province. Of the rainfall in this coffee region we have no reliable
accounts, and it varies much even within short distances, but it is
generally believed to range from 50 inches on the most easterly side of
the coffee districts[58] to about 120 on the west. Opinions vary much as
to the most desirable site for plantations, but I think that most planters
are inclined to think that a rainfall of about 70 inches is the most
desirable. As regards elevation above sea level, plantations vary from
2,800 feet to upwards of 4,000, and it is generally supposed that the
highest elevations yield the best coffee, but it is very difficult to form
any precise conclusion on the subject. Cannon's coffee, which is mostly
grown at about 4,000 feet, always fetched a high price, but this was
owing, I believe, to its long-established good name, for, when I grew
coffee at elevations of from, I believe, 3,200 to nearly 3,500 feet, and
of the same variety of plant, a large wholesale and retail dealer told me
that whether they bought my coffee, Cannon's, or Santawerry (an estate of
the best reputation) it was all the same. After looking over many lists of
sales in recent years, I am struck with the small differences in the
prices obtained for Mysore coffees, with the exception of Cannon's and a
few estates which still grow the old original plant of Mysore. But all the
estates which grow the Coorg plant obtain prices very similar, though
there is a considerable difference in the elevation of the estates, and
therefore, so far as the price of the coffee is concerned, I should not,
in valuing land for planting, attach much importance to mere elevation, as
long as it does not go below 2,000 to 3,000 feet, for below that we have
no experience to go by, and are, therefore, unable to say what effect a
lower elevation would have on the character of the coffee. We have now
considered both climate and elevation, and the values of the various kinds
of forest land, and have next to look at, and if possible value, the
effects of aspect.

The more I have seen and studied coffee the more am I struck with the
value of aspect, and this i