I shall say nothing of the sale of _Teka_ wood, which the Arabs and Persians employ for building their ships; nor of the trade carried on with cardamoms, as well as _Copra_, large quantities of which are every year sent to Persia, Arabia, and other eastern countries. _Anandacetti_, a merchant at _Mattincera_, always kept by him, for sale, _Teka_ wood to the value of five lacks of rupees[97]. The stuffs and different articles of cotton which he had in his warehouses, without reckoning other merchandise, were worth four lacks more. This man purchased and sold, sometimes in a quarter of an hour, a whole ship’s cargo valued at five millions of rupees. Such instances are not uncommon in India. The merchants show to each other catalogues of their goods; select the principal articles by which they think they can acquire profit; mark and erase, sell, exchange and purchase, according as they find it for their advantage; and in this manner gain often in a single hour incredible sums. The king of Travancor purchases every year, from the Europeans, iron, cannon, and cloth for the use of his soldiers; but as the merchandise which he gives in return amounts to much more than the value of these articles, the English and Dutch are always in his debt. This in general is the result in regard to the balance of the Malabar trade; and we here see where the French crowns, the Dutch ducats, the Venetian sequins, the Spanish piastres, and the Portuguese lisabonines at last remain. * * * * * The king lets the lands on lease, four different ways: 1. Instead of money which he has to pay for military service performed; so that in time of peace a portion of land is assigned to each soldier. This land he must cultivate, and is obliged to live on its produce. 2. As _Canam_, or in lieu of a certain capital equivalent in value to such a piece of ground, and which is lent to the king as proprietor for a certain period mentioned in the lease or deed. The capital lent in this manner yields six per cent. annually in _Nella_ or rice. 3. As _Panam_, that is, on mortgage, in virtue of which the person put in possession can use and cultivate such a piece of land. 4. As _Pattam_, that is, for a certain rent which must be paid to the lessee or possessor of the land, in case he lets it again.