varieties in Mysore, especially one kind I have not
seen elsewhere; it is very large, pink inside (Musa
paradisiaca), and has a delicious flavour,—there are
others again that are only fit for cooking.
These hills abound in picturesque aspects, secluded
spots crowded with ferns, trees covered with orchids
and interlaced by creepers of every variety, hardly
a dm it t i n g a peep of the blue sky overhead, and in
their m idst, a little brook disputing the passage;
beyond broad terraces, one above the other, with
water trickling down in pearly threads, setting off
the fresh emerald green of a rich crop of rice which
requires much care in its irrigation, for there is not
a more thirsty plant in existence excepting the water-
lily and others purely aquatic.
One day the dhory proposed riding over to Kerri,
so called after the Canarese for a “ ta n k ” which
exists at the extreme end of this, his other estate,
some eight miles distant. I readily assented, and we set
off before sunrise next morning, both being well
mounted, he on a Waler and I on a stout Pegu pony, but
never did I experience so short a distance occupying
so much time on horseback. Our road or path led
principally up and down hill, occasionally through
swampy paddy fields, fording rivers and scrambling
over thick jungle. The air was deliciously cool and