antage to have local labour, but the local labourers have now
become so well off and independent that many planters much prefer the
imported labourers, because the former are so uncertain in their
attendance, while the latter, when once on the estates, have nothing to
take them away from their work till the season arrives for their departing
to their homes, either below the Ghauts, or in the interior of the
province, from both of which sources the planters of Mysore draw so much
of their labour. But in the picking season there can be no doubt that the
vicinity of villages is a great advantage, as this generally occurs before
the rice harvest, and before that takes place, many people are glad to
work for a month or two months on the plantations. So that, in valuing
land, proximity to villages ought certainly to be taken into favourable
account. Finally, in valuing land, the proximity to good roads and easy
access to them is of great importance--and I say easy access to them
because it sometimes happens that land is situated on the wrong side of an
unbridged river which is sure to be in flood for many months of the year.
I now turn to the important subject of valuing plantations of various
ages.

I may commence here by observing that all the points enumerated as regards
the valuation of land suitable for coffee apply equally to plantations,
but it is hardly necessary to say that there are many additional points to
be considered when valuing a plantation that is for sale, or for which a
valuation may be required for any other purpose. The first point that a
valuator should inquire into, is the age of the forest land on which a
plantation has been formed. This may not be very easily determined, as the
whole of the original forest may have been removed, but there are nearly
certain to be corners left, and the valuator should remember that the
surest sign of very old forest is an occasional very old and partly
decayed Nandi tree, or large and aged Marragudtha trees. The next point to
be considered is as to whether the forest was all felled at once and burnt
off with a running fire, or whether it was cleared by degrees--i.e., in
the first year cleared of underwood and a few of the large trees, and the
wood piled and burned in separate heaps, and the large trees gradually
removed in subsequent years. This may be regarded as a very important
point, for in the latter case the physical condition of the soil will be
sure to have bee