The building at Sholacul was surrounded by a very stout pallisade, to protect it from the wild elephants, who strongly object to all encroachments on their domain; and even take the trouble of pulling up the wooden milestones by the side of the roads. We found all the roads which we travelled over in Malabar excellent, and the ascent of the Sispara ghaut, though only a zigzag bridle-path, is in very good order. After leaving Sholacul the road first passes through a region of gigantic reeds, and then through a belt of black-wood, palms, and tree-ferns, with an undergrowth of _Curcumas_, ferns, and a brilliant purple flower (_Torenia Asiatica_). The black or rose-wood tree (_Dalbergia latifolia_) grows to a height of about fifty feet, with handsome spreading branches, and pinnate leaves. The timber is very valuable; it is extensively used in Bombay for making beautiful carved furniture, and planks are sometimes obtained four feet broad, after the sap-wood has been removed. In consequence of the increasing price, Dr. Cleghorn, the able and energetic Conservator of Forests in the Madras Presidency, has caused a number of seedlings to be planted at Nellamboor; and plantations have also been formed in N. Canara and Mysore. The occasional openings in the forests, at turns in the road, afforded us views of the mountains below us covered with the richest vegetation, and of the rice-fields of Malabar stretching away to the faintly indicated blending of sea and haze on the horizon; which almost equalled in beauty the finest parts of the eastern Andes. From about 1000 to 5000 feet above the sea the jungle is covered with innumerable leeches, which eagerly fasten on their prey, whether men, horses, or dogs, and make a journey through this region, in the wet season, exceedingly disagreeable. Within this leech-zone there is a considerable clearing called Walla-ghaut, planted with coffee, which is in a ruinous and abandoned state, chiefly owing to the difficulty of inducing labourers to venture among the leeches. As we continued the ascent, the scenery increased in magnificence, the views became more extensive, and there were mountain-tops crowned with glorious forest trees far below us. At 6000 feet mosses appear, then lilies, brambles, and wild strawberries, and occasionally we crossed noisy little streams overshadowed by the trees. We reached the Sispara bungalow, on the summit of the ghaut, 6742 feet above the level of the sea, late in the afternoon.