ABSTRACT
Salem is almost on the same latitude as Villupuram and Pondicherry, and about 120 miles inland. Salem stands on the edge of the plain, the railway from Madras skirts the Shevaroy hills, and the rocky foothills of the Nilgiris on the other side are close to the town. Mallur was selected by Mr. E. W. Legh as a typical village of the district around Salem, which is a centre of the cotton hand-loom weaving. A rocky open space adjoining the high-road to Salem was used for a weekly market, at which the villagers sold the products of their various industries, and bought from travelling traders. Salem mangoes have a high reputation throughout South India, and limes are always in demand. Salem is the site of one of the greatest and most unfortunate industrial enterprises associated with the East India Company.
