assess their suitability for spice and crop cultivation. From 2 March to 21 May 1798 he conducted a wide-ranging survey that went well beyond its original mandate, recording soil conditions, cropping patterns, botanical observations, livestock, and native social institutions, and providing an early systematic account of the region's society and economy.

In 1800, after the defeat of Tipu Sultan and the fall of Mysore, he was asked to survey South India,