NÍLGIRI HILLS, or Neilgherry Hills, a district and range of mountains in the Madras presidency, India, lying between 11° 12' and ll o 37' N. lat. and between 76° 18' and 77° 5'E. long., and bounded on the N. by Mysore, E. by Coimbatore, S. by Coimbatore and Malabar, and W. by Malabar. The district until recently consisted exclusively of a mountain plateau lying at an average elevation of 6500 feet, with an area of about 725 square miles. In 1873 this was increased by the addition of the Ochterlony valley in the south-east Wainâd, and again, in 1877, by other portions of the Wainâd, making a total area of 957 square miles. The administrative headquarters is at Utakamand, which is also the summer capital of the Government of Madras. The summit of the Nilgiri Hills is an undulating plateau, frequently breaking into lofty ridges and steep rocky eminences. The descent to the plains is sudden and abrupt, the average fall from the crest to the general level below being about 6000 feet, save on the north, where the base of the mountains rests upon the elevated land of Wainâd and Mysore, standing between 2000 and 3000 feet above sea-level. The Ochterlony valley and Wainâd country consist of a series of broken valleys, once forestclad throughout, but now studded with coffee-gardens....
The highest mountain peaks are—Dodabetta, 8760 feet; Kudiakad, 8502; Bevoibetta, 8188; Makurti, 8402; Dâvarsolabetta, 8380; Kunda, 8353; Kùndamoge, 7816; Utakamand, 7361; Tâmbrabetta, 7292; Hokabetta, 7267. There are six well-known passes or ghats ∖>γ which the district communicates with the neighbouring provinces, viz., the Kιimir, Segùr, Gùdalur, Sispâra, Kotâgiri, and Sundapatti, the first three of which are practicable to wheeled traffic. The chief rivers are the Moyâr, Paikâra, and Calicut, none of which are navigable within the district. The only-lake of note is an artificial one, Utakamand (7220 feet above sea-level), which is nearly 2 miles long. The forests consist of fine timber trees, such as sal (Shorea robusta), kino (Pterocarpus Marsupium), jack (Artocarpus integrifolia), blackwood (D alber gia latifolia), and teak. Eucalyptus and Australian wattle have been extensively planted in the higher grounds of the Wainâd. The hills were first explored by British officers in 1814, and in 1821 the first English house was built on the plateau.
The population of the district in 1881 was 91,034. The only town with more than 5000 inhabitants is Utakamand, with a population of 12,335. The most interesting of the hill tribes are the Todas, who regard themselves as autochthonous. They are a tall, well-proportioned, and athletic race, but indolent and dirty. Their sole occupation is cattle herding and dairy work. They practise polyandry, a woman marrying all the brothers of a family. In religion they follow a species of Hinduism, and also worship their dairy buffaloes. The race seems to be gradually dying out, and in 1881 only numbered 675. The most numerous as well as the most wealthy and civilized of the hill tribes are the Badagas. They are occupied in agriculture, dress after the fashion of the natives of the plains, and are fond of ornaments. They profess Hinduism, and in 1881 numbered 24,130. The Kotas, another hill tribe (1065 in 1881), follow agriculture and various handicrafts. They perform menial offices for the Todas and Badagas, and, like the latter, pay a gudu to the Todas. They worship “ideal” gods, which are not represented by any image. The Kurumbas, or shepherds (3185 in 1881), are the most uncivilized of the hill tribes, and officiate as priests to the Badagas. Besides cultivating on a small scale, they collect various sorts of jungle produce, which they barter on the plains for grain and cloth. The Irulas (946 in 1881) live on the lowest slopes and forests, extending from the base of the Nilgiris to the plains. They are an idle and dissolute tribe, although in physique adapted to hard manual labour.
The ordinary crops grown on the Nilgiri Hills include wheat, barley, and other cereals, oilseeds, and nearly every variety of English vegetables and fruits. The commercially important products are coffee, tea, and cinchona. Coffee cultivation was introduced about 1844. One of its chief seats is the beautiful Ochterlony valley. The Madras Government commenced the experimental cultivation of cinchona on the Nilgiris in 1860, and in 1882 the receipts therefrom amounted to over £50,000. Several private cinchona gardens have been laid out, owing to the success of the Government experiment. There are 190 miles of road, bridged and available for wheeled traffic. The climate of the Nilgiri Hills is almost unrivalled for equability of temperature. The average
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