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Title: Ceylon; an Account of the Island Physical, Historical, and
Topographical with Notices of Its Natural History, Antiquities and
Productions, Volume 1 (of 2)
Author: James Emerson Tennent
Release Date: September 28, 2004 [eBook #13552]
Language: English
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CEYLON; AN ACCOUNT OF THE ISLAND PHYSICAL, HISTORICAL, AND TOPOGRAPHICAL
WITH NOTICES OF ITS NATURAL HISTORY, ANTIQUITIES AND PRODUCTIONS
by
SIR JAMES EMERSON TENNENT, K.C.S. LL.D. &c.
Illustrated by Maps, Plans and Drawings
Fourth Edition, Thoroughly Revised
VOLUME I
LONDON
1860
[Illustration: Frontispiece for Vol I
NOOSING WILD ELEPHANTS--Vol 2 p 359 368 &c]
CONTENTS OF THE FIRST VOLUME
PART I.
PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY.
CHAPTER I.
GEOLOGY.--MINERALOGY.--GEMS.
I. General Aspect.
Singular beauty of the island
Its ancient renown in consequence
Fable of its "perfumed winds" (note)
Character of the scenery
II. Geographical Position
Ancient views regarding it amongst the Hindus,--"the Meridian of
Lanka"
Buddhist traditions of former submersions (note)
Errors as to the dimensions of Ceylon
Opinions of Onesicritus, Eratosthenes, Strabo, Pliny, Ptolemy,
Agathemerus 8,
The Arabian geographers
Sumatra supposed to be Ceylon (note)
True latitude and longitude
General Eraser's map of Ceylon (note)
Geological formation
Adam's Bridge
Error of supposing Ceylon to be a detached fragment of India
III. The Mountain System
Remarkable hills, Mihintala and Sigiri
Little evidence of volcanic action
Rocks, gneiss
Rock temples
Laterite or "Cabook"
Ancient name Tamba-panni (note)
Coral formation
Extraordinary wells
Darwin's theory of coral wells examined (note)
The soil of Ceylon generally poor
"Patenas," their phenomena obscure
Rice lands between the hills
Soil of the plains, "Talawas"
IV. Metals.--Tin
Gold, nickel, cobalt
Quicksilver (note)
Iron
V. Minerals.--Anthracite, plumbago, kaolin, nitre caves
List of Ceylon minerals (note)
VI. Gems, ancient fame of
Rose-coloured quartz (note)
Mode of searching for gems
Rubies
Sapphire, topaz, garnet, and cinnamon stone, cat's-eye, amethyst,
moonstone 37,
Diamond not found in Ceylon (note)
Gem-finders and lapidaries
VII. Rivers.--Their character
The Mahawelli-ganga
Table of the rivers
VIII. Singular coast formation, and its causes
The currents and their influence
Word "Gobb" explained (note)
Vegetation of the sand formations
Their suitability for the coconut
IX. Harbours.--Galle and Trincomalie
Tides
Red infusoria
Population of Ceylon
CHAP. II.
CLIMATE.--HEALTH AND DISEASE.
Uniformity of temperature
Brilliancy of foliage
Colombo.--January--long shore wind
February--cold nights (note)
March, April
May--S.W. monsoon
Aspect of the country before it
Lightning
Rain, its violence
June
July and August, September, October,
November. N.E. monsoon
December
Annual quantity of rain in Ceylon and Hindustan (note)
Opposite climates of the same mountain
Climate of Galle
Kandy and its climate
Mists and hail
Climate of Trincomalie (text and note)
Jaffna and its climate
Waterspouts
Anthelia
Buddha rays
Ceylon as a sanatarium.--Neuera-ellia
Health
Malaria
Food and wine 76,
Effects of the climate of Ceylon on disease
Precautions for health
CHAP. III
VEGETATION.--TREES AND PLANTS.
The Flora of Ceylon imperfectly known
Vegetation similar to that of India and the Eastern Archipelago
Trees of the sea-borde.--Mangroves--Screw-pines, Sonneratia
The Northern Plains.--Euphorbiae Cassia.--Mustard-tree of Scripture
Western coast.--Luxurious vegetation
Eastern coast
Pitcher plant.--Orchids
Vines
Botany of the Mountains.--Iron-wood, Bamboo, European
fruit-trees
Tea-plant--_Rhododendron_--_Mickelia_
Rapid disappearance of dead trees in the forests
Trees with natural buttresses
Flowering Trees.--Coral tree
The Murutu--Imbul--Cotton tree--Champac
The Upas Tree--Poisons of Ceylon
The Banyan
The Sacred Bo-tree
The India Rubber-tree--The Snake-tree
Kumbuk-tree: lime in its bark
Curious Seeds.--The Dorian, _Sterculia foetida_
The Sea Pomegranate
Strychnos, curious belief as to its poison
_Euphorbia_--The Cow-tree, error regarding (note)
Climbing plants, Epiphytes, and flowering creepers
Orchids--Brilliant terrestrial orchid, the
Wanna-raja.--Square-stemmed Vine
Gigantic climbing Plants
Enormous bean
Bonduc seeds.--Ratans--Ratan bridges
Thorny Trees.--Raised as a natural fortification by the
Kandyans
The buffalo thorn, _Acacia tomentosa_
Palms
Coco-nut--Talipat
Palmyra
Jaggery Palm--Arcea Palm
Betel-chewing, its theory and uses
Pingos
Timber Trees
Jakwood--Del--Teak
Suria
Cabinet Woods.--Satin-wood--Ebony--Cadooberia
Calamander, its rarity and beauty
Tamarind
Fruit-trees
Remarkable power of trees to generate cold and keep their fruit
chill
Aquatic Plants--Lotus, red and blue
Desmanthus natans, an aquatic sensitive plant
PART II.
ZOOLOGY.
CHAPTER I.
MAMMALIA.
Neglect of Zoology in Ceylon
Monkeys
Wanderoo
Error regarding the _Silenus Veter_ (note)
Presbytes Cephalopterus
P. Ursinus in the Hills
P. Thersites in the Wanny
P. Priamus, Jaffna and Trincomalie
No dead monkey ever found
Loris
Bats
Flying fox
Horse-shoe bat
Carnivora.--Bears
Their ferocity
Singhalese belief in the efficacy of charms (note)
Leopards
Curious belief
Anecdotes of leopards
Palm-cat
Civet
Dogs
Jackal
The horn of the jackal
Mungoos
Its fights with serpents
Theory of its antidote
Squirrels
Flying squirrel
Tree rat
Story of a rat and a snake
Coffee rat
Bandicoot
Porcupine
Pengolin
_Ruminantia_.--The Gaur
Oxen
Humped cattle
Encounter of a cow and a leopard
Buffaloes
Sporting buffaloes
Peculiar structure of the hoof
Deer
Meminna
Elephants
Whales
General view of the mammalia of Ceylon
List of Ceylon mammalia
Curious parasite of the bat (note)
CHAP. II.
BIRDS.
Their numbers
Songsters
Hornbills, the "bird with two heads"
Pea fowl
Sea birds, their number
I. _Accipitres_.--Eagles
Falcons and hawks
Owls--the devil bird
II. _Passeres_.--Swallows
Kingfishers--sunbirds
Bul-bul--tailor bird--and weaver
Crows, anecdotes of
III. _Scansores_.--Parroquets
IV. _Columbiae_.--Pigeons
V. _Gallinae_.--Jungle-fowl
VI. _Grallae_.--Ibis, stork, &c.
VII. _Anseres_.--Flamingoes
Pelicans
Game.--Partridges, &c.176
List of Ceylon birds
List of birds peculiar to Ceylon
CHAP. III.
REPTILES.
Lizards.--Iguana
Kabragoya, barbarous custom in preparing the cobra-tel poison
(note)
The green calotes
Chameleon
Ceratophora
Geckoes,--their power of reproducing limbs 185,
Crocodiles
Their power of burying themselves in the mud
Tortoises--Curious parasite
Land tortoises
Edible turtle
Huge Indian tortoises (note)
Hawk's-bill turtle, barbarous mode of stripping it of the
tortoise-shell
Serpents.--Venomous species rare
Cobra de capello
Instance of land snakes found at sea
Tame snakes (note)
Singular tradition regarding the cobra de capello
Uropeltidae.--New species discovered in Ceylon
Buddhist veneration for the cobra de capello
Anecdotes of snakes
The Python
Water snakes
Snake stones
Analysis of one
Caecilia
Large frogs
Tree frogs
List of Ceylon reptiles
CHAP. IV.
FISHES.
Ichthyology of Ceylon, little known
Fish for table, seir fish
Sardines, poisonous?
Sharks
Saw-fish
Fish of brilliant colours
Curious fish described by AElian (note)
Fresh-water fish, little known,--not much eaten
Fresh-water fish in Colombo Lake
Immense profusion of fish in the rivers and lakes
Their re-appearance after rain
Mode of fishing in the ponds
Showers of fish
Conjecture that the ova are preserved, not tenable
Fish moving on dry land
Instances in Guiana (note)
Perca Scandens, ascends trees
Doubts as to the story of Daldorf
Fishes burying themselves during the dry season
The _protopterus_ of the Gambia
Instances in the fish of the Nile
Instances in the fish of South America
Living fish dug out of the ground in the dry tanks in Ceylon
Other animals that so bury themselves, Melaniae, Ampullariae, &c.
The animals that so bury themselves in India (note)
Analogous case of (note)
Theory of aestivation and hybernation
Fish in hot-water in Ceylon
List of Ceylon fishes
Instances of fishes failing from the clouds
Overland migration of fishes known to the Greeks and Romans
Note on Ceylon fishes by Professor Huxley
Comparative note by Dr. Gray, Brit. Mus.231
CHAP. V.
MOLLUSCA, RADIATA, AND ACALEPHAE.
I. Conchology--General character of Ceylon shells
Confusion regarding them in scientific works and collections
List of Ceylon shells
II. _Radiata_.--Star fish
Sea slugs
Parasitic worms
Planaria
III. _Acalephae_, abundant
Corals little known
CHAP. VI.
INSECTS.
Profusion of insects in Ceylon
Imperfect knowledge of
I. _Coleoptera_.--Beetles
Scavenger beetles
Coco-nut beetles
Tortoise beetles
II. _Orthoptera_.--Mantis and leaf-insects
Stick-insects
III. _Neuroptera_--Dragon flies
Ant-lion
White ants
Anecdotes of their instinct and ravages (text and note)
V. _Hymenoptera_.--Mason Wasps
Wasps
Bees
Carpenter Bee
Ants
Burrowing ants
VI. _Lepidoptera_.--Butterflies
Sylph
Lycaenidae
Moths
Silk worms (text and note)
Wood-carrying Moths
Pterophorus
VII. _Homoptera_
Cicada
VIII. _Hemiptera_
Bugs
IX. _Aphaniptera_
X. _Diptera_.--Mosquitoes
General character of Ceylon insects
List of insects in Ceylon
CHAP. VII.
ARACHNIDE, MYRIOPODA, CRUSTACEA, ETC.
Spiders
Strange nests of the wood spiders
_Olios Taprobanius_
_Mygale fasciata_
Ticks
Mites.--_Trombidium tinctorum_
Myriapods.--Centipedes
Cermatia
Scolopendra crassa
S. pollipes
_Millipeds_--Iulus
_Crustacea_
Calling crabs
Land crabs
Painted crabs
Paddling crabs
_Annelidae_, Leeches.--The land leech
Medical leech
Cattle leech
List of Articulata, &c.307
PART III.
THE SINGHALESE CHRONICLES.
CHAPTER I.
SOURCES OF SINGHALESE HISTORY--THE MAHAWANSO.
Ceylon formerly thought to have no authentic history
Researches of Turnour
Biographical sketch of Turnour (note)
The Mahawanso
Recovery of the "tika" on the Mahawanso
Outline of the Mahawanso
Turnour's epitome of Singhalese history
Historical proofs of the Mahawanso
Identity of Sandracottus and Chandragupta
Ancient map of Ceylon (note)
List of Ceylon sovereigns
CHAP. II.
THE ABORIGINES.
Singhalese histories all illustrative of Buddhism
A Buddha
Gotama Buddha, his history
Amazing prevalence of his religion (note)
His three visits to Ceylon
Inhabitants of the island at that time supposed to be of Malayan
type
Legend of their Chinese origin
Probably identical with the aborigines of the Dekkan
Common basis of their language
Characteristics of vernacular Singhalese
State of the aborigines before Wijayo's invasion
Story of Wijayo
The natives of Ceylon described as _Yakkos_ and _Nagas_
Traces of serpent-worship in Ceylon
Coincidence of the Mahawanso with the Odyssey (note)
CHAP. III.
CONQUEST OF WIJAYO, B.C. 543.--ESTABLISHMENT OF BUDDHISM, B.C. 307.
Early commerce of Ceylon described by the Chinese
Wijayo as a colonizer
His treatment of the native population
B.C. 505. His death and successors
A number of petty kingdoms formed
Ceylon divided into three districts: Pihiti, Rohuna, and Maya
The village system established
Agriculture introduced
Irrigation imported from India
The first tank constructed, B.C. 504 (note)
Rapid progress of the island
Toleration of Wijayo and his followers
Establishment of Buddhism, 307 B.C.
Preaching of Mahindo
Planting of the sacred Bo-tree
CHAP. IV.
THE BUDDHIST MONUMENTS.
Buddhist architecture introduced in Ceylon
The first _dagobas_ built
Their mode of construction and vast dimensions
The earliest Buddhist temples
Images and statues a later innovation
First residences of the priesthood
The formation of monasteries and _wiharas_
The first wihara built
Form of the modern wiharas
Inconvenient numbers of the Buddhist priesthood
Originally fed by the kings and the people
Caste annulled in the case of priests
The priestly robe and its peculiarities
CHAP. V.
SINGHALESE CHIVALRY.--ELALA AND DUTUGAIMUNU.
Progress of civilisation
The new settlers agriculturists
Malabars enlisted as soldiers and seamen
B.C. 237. The revolt of Sena and Gutika
B.C. 205. Usurpation of Elala
His character and renown
The victory of Dutugaimunu
Progress of the south of the island
Building of the great Ruanwelle Dagoba
Building of the Brazen Palace
Its vicissitudes and ruins
Death and character of Dutugaimunu
CHAP. VI.
THE INFLUENCES OP BUDDHISM ON CIVILISATION.
The Mahawanse or Great Dynasty
The Suluwanse or Inferior Dynasty
Services rendered by the Great Dynasty
Frequent usurpations and the cause
Disputed successions
Rising influence of the priesthood
B.C. 104. Their first endowment with land
Rapid increase of the temple estates
Their possessions and their vow of poverty reconciled
Acquire the compulsory labour of temple-tenants
Impulse thus given to cultivation
And to the construction of enormous tanks
Tanks conferred on the temples
The great tank of Minery formed, A.D. 272
Subserviency of the kings to the priesthood
Large possessions of the temples at the present day
Cultivation of flowers for the temples
Their singular profusion
Fruit trees planted by the Buddhist sovereigns
Edicts of Asoca
CHAP. VII.
FATE OF THE ABORIGINES.
Aborigines forced to labour for the new settlers
Immensity of the structures erected by them
Slow amalgamation of the natives with the strangers
The worship of snakes and demons continued
Treatment of the aborigines by the kings
Their formal disqualification for high office
Their rebellions
They retire into the mountains and forests
Their singular habits of seclusion
Traces of their customs at the present day
CHAP. VIII.
EXTINCTION OF THE GREAT DYNASTY.
B.C. 104 Walagam-bahu I
His wars with the Malabars
The South of Ceylon free from Malabar invasion
The Buddhist doctrines first formed into books
The formation of rock-temples
Apostacy of Chora Naga
Ceylon governed by queens
Schisms in religion
Buddhism tolerant of heresy but intolerant of schism
Illustrations of Buddhist toleration
Tolerance enjoined by Asoca
The Wytulian heresy
Corruption of Buddhism by the impurities of Brahnmanism
A.D. 275. Recantation and repentance of King Maha Sen
End of the Solar race
State of Ceylon at that period
Prosperity of the North
Description of Anarajapoora in the fourth century
Its municipal organisation
Its palaces and temples
Popular error as to the area of the city (note)
Multitudes of the priesthood described by Fa Hian
CHAP. IX
KINGS OF THE LOWER DYNASTY.
Sovereigns of the Lower Dynasty, a feeble race
Kings who were sculptors, physicians, and poets
Earliest notice of Foreign Embassies to Rome and to China
Notices of Ceylon by Chinese Historians
Fa Hian visits Ceylon A.D. 413
Anecdote related by Fa Hian (note)
History of "the Sacred Tooth"
Murder of the king Dhatu Sena, A.D. 459
Infamous conduct of his son
The fortified rock Sigiri
CHAP. X.
DOMINATION OF THE MALABARS.
Origin of the Malabar invaders of Ceylon
The ancient Indian kingdom of Pandya
Malabar mercenaries enlisted in Ceylon
B.C. 237. Revolt of Sena and Gutika
B.C. 205. Usurpation of Elala
B.C. 103. Second Malabar invasion
A.D. 110. Third Malabar invasion
Jewish evidence of Malabar conquest (note)396
A.D. 433. Fourth Malabar invasion
The influence of the Malabars firmly established
Distress of the Singhalese in the 7th century, as described by Hiouen
Thsang
A.D. 642. Anarajapoora deserted, and Pollanarrua built
The Malabars did nothing to improve the island
A.D. 840. A fresh Malabar invasion
The Singhalese seek to conciliate them by alliances
A.D. 990. Another Malabar invasion
Extreme misery of the island
A.D. 1023. The Malabars seize Pollanarrua and occupy the entire north
of the island
CHAP. XI.
THE REIGN OF PRAKRAMA BAHU.
A.D. 1071. Recovery of the island from the Malabars
Wijayo Bahu I. expels the Malabars
Birth of the Prince Prakrama
His character and renown
Immense public works constructed by him
Restores the order of the Buddhist priesthood
Intercourse between Siam and Ceylon
Temples and sacred edifices built by Prakrama
The Gal-Wihara at Pollanarrua
Ruins of Pollanarrua
Extraordinary extent of his works for irrigation
Foreign wars of Prakrama
His conquests in India
The death of Prakrama Bahu
CHAP. XII.
FATE OF THE SINGHALESE MONARCHY.
ARRIVAL OF THE PORTUGUESE, A.D. 1505.
Prakrama Baku, the last powerful king
Anarchy follows on his decease
A.D. 1197. The Queen Leela-Wattee
A.D. 1211. Return of the Malabar invaders
The Malabars establish themselves at Jaffna
Early history of Jaffna
A.D. 1235. The new capital at Dambedenia
Extending ruin of Ceylon
Kandy founded as a new capital
Successive removals of the seat of Government to Yapahoo, Kornegalle,
Gampola, Kandy, and Cotta
Ascendancy of the Malabars
A.D. 1410. The King of Ceylon carried captive to China
Ceylon tributary to China
Arrival of the Portuguese in Ceylon
PART IV.
SCIENCES AND SOCIAL ARTS.
CHAPTER I.
POPULATION, CASTE, SLAVERY, AND RAJA-KARIYA.
Population encouraged by the fertility of Ceylon
Evidence of its former extent in the ruins of the tanks and canals
Means by which the population was preserved
Causes of its dispersion--the ruin of the tanks
Domestic life similar to that of the Hindus
Respect shown to females
Caste perpetuated in defiance of religious prohibition
Particulars in which caste in Ceylon differs from caste in India
Slavery, borrowed from Hindustan
Compulsory labour or Raja-kariya
Mode of enforcing it
CHAP. II.
AGRICULTURE, IRRIGATION, CATTLE, AND CROPS.
Agriculture unknown before the arrival of Wijayo
Rice was imported into Ceylon in the second century B.C.
The practice of irrigation due to the Hindu kings
Who taught the science of irrigation to the Singhalese (note)
The first tank constructed B.C. 504
Gardens and fruit-trees first planted
Value of artificial irrigation in the north of Ceylon
In the south of the island the rains sustain cultivation
Two harvests in the year in the south of the island
In the north, where rains are uncertain, tanks indispensable
Irrigation the occupation of kings
The municipal village-system of cultivation
"_Assoedamising_" of rice lands in the mountains
Temple villages and their tenure
Farm-stock buffaloes and cows
A Singhalese garden described
Coco-nut palm rarely mentioned in early writings
Doubt whether it be indigenous to Ceylon
The Mango and other fruits
Rice and curry mentioned in the second century B.C.
Animal food used by the early Singhalese
Betel, antiquity of the custom of chewing it
Intoxicating liquors known at an early period
CHAP. III.
EARLY COMMERCE, SHIPPING, AND PRODUCTIONS.
Trade entirely in the hands of strangers
Native shipping unconnected with commerce
Same indifference to trade prevails at this day
Singhalese boats all copied from foreign models
All sewn together and without iron
Romance of the "Loadstone Island"
The legend believed by Greeks and the Chinese
Vessels with two prows mentioned by Strabo
Foreign trade spoken of B.C. 204
Internal traffic in the ancient city of Ceylon
Merchants traversing the island
Early exports from Ceylon,--gems, pearls, &c.
The imports, chiefly manufactures
Horses and carriages imported from India
Cloth, silk, &c., brought from Persia
Kashmir, intercourse with
Edrisi's account of Ceylon trade in the twelfth century
CHAP. IV.
MANUFACTURES.
Silk not produced in Ceylon
Coir and cordage
Dress; unshaped robes
Manual and Mechanical Arts--Weaving
Priest's robes spun, woven, and dyed in a day
Peculiar mode of cutting out a priest's robe
Bleaching and dyeing
Earliest artisans, immigrants
Handicrafts looked down on
Pottery
Glass
Glass mirrors
Leather
Wood carving
Chemical Arts--Sugar
Mineral paints
CHAP. V.
WORKING IN METALS.
Early knowledge of the use of iron
Steel
Copper and its uses
Bells, bronze, lead
Gold and silver
Plate and silver ware
Red coral found at Galle (note)
Jewelry and mounted gems
Gilding.--Coin
Coins mentioned in the Mahawanso
Meaning of the term "massa" (note)
Coins of Lokiswaira
General device of Singhalese coins
Indian coinage of Prakrama Bahu
Fish-hook money
CHAP. VI.
ENGINEERING.
Engineering taught by the Brahmans
Rude methods of labour
Military engineering unknown
Early attempts at fortification
Fortified rock of Sigiri
Forests, their real security
Thorns planted as defences
Bridges and ferries
Method of tying cut stone in forming tanks
Tank sluices
Defective construction of these reservoirs
The art of engineering lost
The "Giants' Tank" a failure
An aqueduct formed, A.D. 66
CHAP. VII.
THE FINE ARTS.
Music, its early cultivation
Harsh character of Singhalese music
Tom-toms, their variety and antiquity
Singhalese gamut
Painting.--Imagination discouraged
Similarity of Singhalese to Egyptian art
Rigid rules for religious design
Similar trammels on art in Modern Greece (note)
And in Italy in the 15th century (n.)
Celebrated Singhalese painters
Sculpture.--Statues of Buddha
Built statues
Painted statues
Statues formed of gems
Ivory and sandal-wood carved
Architecture, its ruins exclusively religious
Domestic architecture mean at all times
Stone quarried by wedges
Immense slabs thus prepared
Columns at Anarajapoora
Materials for building
Mode of constructing a dagoba
Enormous dimensions of these structures
Monasteries and wiharas
Palaces
Carvings in stone
Ubiquity of the honours shown to goose
Delicate outline of Singhalese carvings
Temples and their decorations
Cave temples of Ceylon
The Alu-wihara
Moulding in plaster
Claim of the Singhalese to the invention of oil painting
Lacquer ware of the present day
Honey-suckle ornament
CHAP. VIII.
SOCIAL LIFE.
Ancient cities and their organisation
Public buildings, hospitals, shops
Anarajapoora, as it appeared in 7th century
The description of it by Fa Hian
Carriages and Horses
Horses imported from Persia
Furniture of the houses
Form of Government.--Revenue
The Army and Navy
Mode of recruiting
Arms.--Bows
Singular mode of drawing the bow with the foot (note)
Civil Justice
CHAP. IX.
SCIENCES.
Education and schools
Logic
Astronomy and astrology
Medicine and surgery
King Buddha-dasa a physician
Botany
Geometry
Lightning conductors
Notice of a remarkable passage in the Mahawanso
CHAP. X.
SINGHALESE LITERATURE.
The Pali language
The temples the depositaries of learning
Historiographers employed by the kings
Ola books, how prepared
A stile, and the mode of writing
Books on plates of metal (note)
Differences between Elu and Singhalese
Pali works
Grammar
Hardy's list of Singhalese books (note)
Pali books all written in verse
The _Pittakas_
The _Jatakas_--resemble the Talmud
Pali literature generally
The _Milinda-prasna_
Pali historical books and their character
The _Mahawanso_
Scriptural coincidences in Pali books (note)
Sanskrit works:
Principally on science and medicine
Elu and Singhalese works:
Low tone of the popular literature
Chiefly ballads and metrical essays
Exempt from licentiousness
Sacred poems in honour of Hindu gods
General literature of the people
CHAP. XI.
BUDDHISM AND DEMON-WORSHIP.
Buddhism as it exists in Ceylon
Which was the more ancient, Brahmanism or Buddhism
Various authorities (note)
Buddhism, its extreme antiquity
Its prodigious influence
Sought to be identified with the Druids (note)
Buddhism an agent of civilisation
Its features in Ceylon
The various forms elsewhere
Points that distinguish it from Brahmanism
Buddhist theory of human perfection
Its treatment of caste
Its respect for other religions
Anecdote, illustrative of (note)
Its cosmogony
Its doctrine of "necessity"
Transmigration
Illustration from Lucan (note)
The priesthood and its attributes
Buddhist morals
Prohibition to take life
Form of worship
Brahmanical corruptions
Failure of Buddhism as a sustaining faith
Its moral influence over the people
Demon-worship
Trees dedicated to demons (note)
Devil priests and their orgies
Ascendency of these superstitions
Buddhism as an obstacle to Christianity
Difficulties presented by the morals of Buddhism
Prohibition against taking away life (note)
PART V.
MEDIAEVAL HISTORY.
CHAPTER I.
CEYLON AS KNOWN TO THE GREEKS AND ROMANS.
First heard of by the companions of Alexander the Great
Various ancient names of Ceylon (note)
Early doubts whether it was an island or a continent
Mentioned by Aristotle
Alleged mention of Ceylon in the Samaritan Pentateuch (note)
Onesicritus's account
Megasthenes' description
AElian's account borrowed from Megasthenes (note)
Ceylon known to the Phoenicians and to the Egyptians (note)
Hippalus discovers the monsoons
Effect of this discovery on Indian trade
Pliny's account of Ceylon
Story of Jambulus by Diodoros Siculus (note)
Embassy from Ceylon to Claudius
Narrative of Rachias, and its explanation (note)
Lake Megisba, a tank
Early intercourse with China
The Veddahs described by Pliny
Interval between Pliny and Ptolemy
Ptolemy's account of Ceylon
Explanation of his errors
Ptolemy discriminates bays from estuaries (note) v9
Identification of Ptolemy's names
His map
His sources of information
Agathemerus, Marcianus of Heraclea
Cosmas Indicopleustes
Palladius--St. Ambrosius (note)
State of Ceylon when Cosmas wrote
Its commerce at that period
In the hands of Arabs and Persians v4
Ceylon as described by Cosmas
Story of his informant Sopater
Translation of Cosmas
The gems and other productions of Ceylon--"a gaou" (note)
Meaning of the term "Hyacinth" (note)
The great ruby of Ceylon, its history traced (note)
Cosmas corroborated by the Peripius
Horses imported from Persia
Export of elephants
Note on Sanchoniathon
CHAP. II.
INDIAN, ARABIAN, AND PERSIAN AUTHORITIES.
Absurd errors of the Hindus regarding Ceylon
Their dread of Ceylon as the abode of demons
Rise of the Mahometan power
Persians and Arabs trade to India
Story in Beladory of the first invasion of India by the Mahometans
(text and note)
Character of the Arabian geographers
Their superiority over the Greeks
Greek Paradoxical literature
A.D. 851. The two Mahometans
Their account of Ceylon
Adam's Peak
Obsequies of a king
Councils on religion and history
Toleration
Carmathic monument at Colombo (note)
Galle, the seat of ancient trade
Claim of Mantotte disproved
Greek fire (note)
"_Kalah_" is Galle
The Maharaja of Zabedj help possession of Galle
Evidence of this in the Garsharsp-Namah
Derivation of "Galle" (text and note)
Aversion of the Singhalese to commerce
Identification of the modern Veddahs with the ancient Singhalese
Their singular habits, as described by Robert Knox, Ribeyro, and
Valentyn
By Albyrouni
By Palladius
By Fa Hian
By the Chinese writers (note)
By Pliny
For this reason the coast only known to strangers
Arabian authors who describe Ceylon
Albateny and Massoudi
Tabari (note)
Sinbad the Sailor
Edrisi
Kazwini
Cinnamon, no mention of
Was cinnamon a native of Ceylon?
No mention by Singhalese authors
No mention of by Latin writers
The _Regio Cinnamomifera_ was in Africa (note)
No mention by Arabs or Persians
First noticed in Ceylon by Ibn Batuta
By Nicola di Conti (note)
Ibn Batuta describes Ceylon
His Travels
CHAP. III.
CEYLON AS KNOWN TO THE CHINESE.
Early Chinese trade with Ceylon
Early Chinese travellers in India
Chinese translations of M.S. Julien
List of Chinese authors relating to Ceylon (note)
Their errors as to its form and site
Their account of Adam's Peak and its gems
Chinese names for Ceylon
Curious habit of its traders
They describe the two races, Tamils and Singhalese
Origin of the cotton "Comboy"
Costume of Ceylon
Early commerce
Works for irrigation noticed
Island of Junk-Ceylon
Galle resorted to by Chinese ships
Vegetable productions
Elephants, ivory, and jewels
Skill of Singhalese goldsmiths and statuaries
Pearls and gems sent to China
No mention of cinnamon
Chinese account of Buddhism in Ceylon
Monasteries for priests first founded in Ceylon
Cities of Ceylon in the sixth century
Patriotism of Singhalese kings
Domestic manners of the Singhalese
Embassies from China to Ceylon
Chinese travels prior to the sixth century
Fa Hian's travels in sixth century
First embassy from Ceylon to China, A.D. 405
Narrative of the image which it bore (note)
Ceylon tributary to China in sixth century
Hiouen-Thsang describes Ceylon in the seventh century (note)
Events in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries
King of Ceylon carried captive to China, A.D. 1405
Last embassy to China, A.D. 1459
Traces of the Chinese in Ceylon
Evidences of their presence found by the Portuguese
Modern Chinese account of Ceylon (note)
CHAP. IV.
CEYLON AS KNOWN TO THE MOORS,
GENOESE, AND VENETIANS.
The Moors of Ceylon
Their origin
The early Mahometans in India
Arabians anciently settled in Ceylon
Real descent of the modern "Moormen"
Their occupation as traders, ancestral
Their hostilities with the Portuguese
They might have been rulers of Ceylon
Indian trade prior to the route by the Cape
The Genoese and Venetians in the East
Rise of the Mongol empire
Marco Polo, A.D. 1271
Visits Ceylon
Friar Odoric, A.D. 1318
Jordan de Severac, A.D. 1323 (note)
Giov. de Marignola, A.D. 1349 (note)
Nicola di Conti, A.D. 1444
The first traveller who speaks of Cinnamon
Jerome de Santo Stefano (note)
Ludov. Barthema, A.D. 1506
Odoardo Barbosa, A.D. 1509
Andrea Corsali, A.D. 1515 (note)
Cesar Frederic, A.D. 1563
Course of trade changed by the Cape route
Irritation of the Venetians
ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE FIRST VOLUME
MAPS.
"Gobbs" on the East Coast By ARROWSMITH
"Gobbs" on the "West Coast ARROWSMITH
Ceylon, according to the Sanskrit
and Pali authors SIR J. EMERSON TENNENT
Map of Ancient India LASSEN
Position of Colombo, according to Ptolemy
and Pliny SIR J. EMERSON TENNENT
Ceylon, according to Ptolemy and Pliny SIR J. EMERSON TENNENT
PLANS AND CHARTS.
Geological System By
Currents in the N.E. Monsoon
Currents in the N.W. Monsoon
Diagram of Rain in India and in Ceylon DR. TEMPLETON
Diagram of the Anthelia DR. TEMPLETON
Plan of a Fish-corral
Summit of a Dagoba, with Lightning
apparatus
WOOD ENGRAVINGS.
Marriage of the Fig-tree and the Palm By MR. A. NICHOLL
Fig-tree on the Ruins of Pollanarrua MR. A. NICHOLL
The "Snake-tree" MR. A. NICHOLL
The _Loris_ M.H. SYLVAT
The _Uropeltis grandis_ M.H. SYLVAT
A _Chironectes_ M.H. SYLVAT
Method of Fishing in Pools From KNOX
The _Anabas_ of the dry Tanks By DR. TEMPLETON
Eggs of the Leaf Insect M.H. SYLVAT
_Cermatia_ DR. TEMPLETON
The Calling Crab
Eyes and Teeth of the Land Leech DR. TEMPLETON
Land Leeches DR. TEMPLETON
Upper and under Surfaces of the
_Hirudo sanguisorba_ DR. TEMPLETON
The Bo-tree at Anarajapoora MR. A. NICHOLL
A Dagoba at Kandy From a Photograph
Ruins of the Brazen Palace By MR. A. NICHOLL
The Alu Wihara MR. A. NICHOLL
The fortified Rock of Sigiri MR. A. NICHOLS
Coin of Queen Leela-Wattee
Coin showing the _Trisula_
Hook-money
Ancient and Modern Tom-tom Beaters From the JOINVILLE MSS.
A Column from Anarajapoora
Sacred Goose from the Burmese Standard
Hansa, from the old Palace at Kandy
Honeysuckle Ornament From FERGUSSON'S
_Handbook of
Architecture_
Egyptian Yoke and Singhalese Pingo
Veddah drawing the Bow with his Foot By MR. R. MACDOWALL
Method of Writing with a Style MR. R. MACDOWALL
The "Comboy," as worn by both Sexes MR. A. FAIRFIELD
NOTICE TO THE FOURTH EDITION.
The gratifying reception with which the following pages have been
honoured by the public and the press, has in no degree lessened my
consciousness, that in a work so extended in its scope, and
comprehending such a multiplicity of facts, errors are nearly
unavoidable both as to conclusions and detail. These, so far as I became
aware of them, I have endeavoured to correct in the present, as well as
in previous impressions.
But my principal reliance for the suggestion and supply both of
amendments and omissions has been on the press and the public of Ceylon;
whose familiarity with the topics discussed naturally renders them the
most competent judges as to the mode in which they have been treated. My
hope when the book was published in October last was, that before going
again to press I should be in possession of such friendly communications
and criticisms from the island, as would have enabled me to render the
second edition much more valuable than the previous one. In this
expectation I have been agreeably disappointed, the sale having been so
rapid, as to require a fourth impression before it was possible to
obtain from Ceylon judicious criticisms on the first. These in due time
will doubtless arrive; and meanwhile, I have endeavoured, by careful
revision, to render the whole as far as possible correct.
J. EMERSON TENNENT.
NOTICE TO THE THIRD EDITION.
The call for a third edition on the same day that the second was
announced for publication, and within less than two months from the
appearance of the first, has furnished a gratifying assurance of the
interest which the public are disposed to take in the subject of the
present work.
Thus encouraged, I have felt it my duty to make several alterations in
the present impression, amongst the most important of which is the
insertion of a Chapter on the doctrines of Buddhism as it developes
itself in Ceylon.[1] In the historical sections I had already given an
account of its introduction by Mahindo, and of the establishments
founded by successive sovereigns for its preservation and diffusion. To
render the narrative complete, it was felt desirable to insert an
abstract of the peculiar tenets of the Buddhists; and this want it has
been my object to supply. The sketch, it will be borne in mind, is
confined to the principal features of what has been denominated
"_Southern Buddhism_" amongst the Singhalese; as distinguished from
"_Northern Buddhism_" in Nepal, Thibet, and China.[2] The latter has
been largely illustrated by the labours of Mr. B.H. HODGSON and the
toilsome researches of M. CSOMA of Koerroes in Transylvania; and the
minutest details of the doctrines and ceremonies of the former have been
unfolded in the elaborate and comprehensive collections of Mr. SPENCE
HARDY.[3] From materials discovered by these and other earnest
inquirers, Buddhism in its general aspect has been ably delineated in
the dissertations of BURNOUF[4] and SAINT HILAIRE[5], and in the
commentaries of REMUSAT[6], STANISLAS JULIEN[7], FOUCAUX[8], LASSEN[9],
and WEBER.[10] The portion thus added to the present edition has been to
a great extent taken from a former work of mine on the local
superstitions of Ceylon, and the "_Introduction and Progress of
Christianity_" there; and as the section relating to Buddhism had the
advantage, previous to publication, of being submitted to the Rev. Mr.
GOGERLY, the most accomplished Pali scholar, as well as the most erudite
student of Buddhistical literature in the island, I submit it with
confidence as an accurate summary of the distinctive views of the
Singhalese on the leading doctrines of their national faith.
[Footnote 1: See Part IV., c. xi.]
[Footnote 2: MAX MUELLER; _History of Sanskrit Literature_, p. 202.]
[Footnote 3: _Eastern Monachism_, an account of the origin, laws;
discipline, sacred writings, mysterious rites, religious ceremonies, and
present circumstances of the Order of Mendicants, founded by Gotoma
Budha. 8vo. Lond. 1850; and _A Manual of Buddhism in its Modern
Development_. 8vo. Lond. 1853.]
[Footnote 4: BURNOUF, _Introduction a l'Histoire du Bouddhieme Indien_.
4to. Paris. 1845; and translation of the _Lotus de la bonne Loi_.]
[Footnote 5: J. BARTHELEMY SAINT-HILAIRE _Le Bouddha et sa Religion_.
8vo. Paris. 1800.]
[Footnote 6: Introduction and Notes to the _Fo[)e] Kou[)e] Ki_ of FA
HIAN.]
[Footnote 7: Life and travels of HIOUEN THSANG.]
[Footnote 8: Translation of _Lalitavistara_ by M. PH. ED. FOUCAUX.]
[Footnote 9: Author of the _Indische Alterthumskunde;_ &c.]
[Footnote 10: Author of the _Indische Studien_; &c.]
A writer in the _Saturday Review_[1], in alluding to the passage in
which I have sought to establish the identity of the ancient Tarshish
with the modern Point de Galle[2], admits the force of the coincidence
adduced, that the Hebrew terms for "ivory, apes, and peacocks"[3] (the
articles imported in the ships of Solomon) are identical with the Tamil
names, by which these objects are known in Ceylon to the present day;
and, to strengthen my argument on this point, he adds that, "these terms
were so entirely foreign and alien from the common Hebrew language as to
have driven the Ptolemaist authors of the Septuagint version into a
blunder, by which the ivory, apes, and peacocks come out as '_hewn and
carven stones_.'" The circumstance adverted to had not escaped my
notice; but I forebore to avail myself of it; for, although the fact is
accurately stated by the reviewer, so far as regards the Vatican MS., in
which the translators have slurred over the passage and converted
"_ibha, kapi_, and _tukeyim_" into [Greek: "lithon toreuton kai
peleketon"] (literally, "stones hammered and carved in relief"); still,
in the other great MS. of the Septuagint, the _Codex Alexandrinus_,
which is of equal antiquity, the passage is correctly rendered by
"[Greek: odonton elephantinon kai pithekon kai taonon]." The editor of
the Aldine edition[4] compromised the matter by inserting "the ivory and
apes," and excluding the "peacocks," in order to introduce the Vatican
reading of "stones."[5] I have not compared the Complutensian and other
later versions.
[Footnote 1: Novemb. 19, 1859, p. 612.]
[Footnote 2: _See_ Vol. II. Pt. VII., c. i. p. 102.]
[Footnote 3: 1 _Kings_, x. 22.]
[Footnote 4: Venice, 1518.]
[Footnote 5: [Greek: Kai odonton elephantinon kai pithekon kai lithon].
[Greek: BASIA TRITE]. x. 22. It is to be observed, that Josephus appears
to have been equally embarrassed by the unfamiliar term _tukeyim_ for
peacocks. He alludes to the voyages of Solomon's merchantmen to
Tarshish, and says that they brought hack from thence gold and silver,
_much_ ivory, apes, _and AEthiopians_--thus substituting "slaves" for
pea-fowl--"[Greek: kai polus elephas, Aithiopes te kai pithekoi]."
Josephus also renders the word Tarshish by "[Greek: en te Tarsike
legomene thalatte]," an expression which shows that he thought not of
the Indian but the western Tarshish, situated in what Avienus calls the
_Fretum Tartessium_, whence African slaves might have been expected to
come.--_Antiquit. Judaicae_, l. viii. c. vii sec. 2.]
The Rev. Mr. CURETON, of the British Museum, who, at my request,
collated the passage in the Chaldee and Syriac versions, assures me that
in both, the terms in question bear the closest resemblance to the Tamil
words found in the Hebrew; and that in each and all of them these are of
foreign importation.
J. EMERSON TENNENT.
LONDON: November 28th, 1859.
NOTICE TO THE SECOND EDITION.
The rapidity with which the first impression has been absorbed by the
public, has so shortened the interval between its appearance and that of
the present edition, that no sufficient time has been allowed for the
discovery of errors or defects; and the work is re-issued almost as a
corrected reprint.
In the interim, however, I have ascertained, that Ribeyro's "Historical
Account of Ceylon," which it was heretofore supposed had never appeared
in any other than the French version of the Abbe Le Grand, and in the
English translation of the latter by Mr. Lee[1], was some years since
printed for the first time in the original Portuguese, from the
identical MS. presented by the author to Pedro II. in 1685. It was
published in 1836 by the Academia Real das Sciencias of Lisbon, under
the title of "_Fatalidade Historica da Ilka de Ceilao_;" and forms the
Vth volume of the a "_Collecao de Noticias para a Historia e Geograjia
das Nacoes Ultramarinas_" A fac-simile from a curious map of the island
as it was then known to the Portuguese, has been included in the present
edition.[2]
[Footnote 1: See Vol. II. Part vi. ch. i. p.5, note.]
[Footnote 2: Ibid. p. 6.]
Some difficulty having been expressed to me, in identifying the ancient
names of places in India adverted to in the following pages; and
mediaeval charts of that country being rare, a map has been inserted in
the present edition[1], to supply the want complained of.
[Footnote 1: See Vol. I. p. 330.]
The only other important change has been a considerable addition to the
Index, which was felt to be essential for facilitating reference.
J E.T.
INTRODUCTION.
There is no island in the world, Great Britain itself not excepted, that
has attracted the attention of authors in so many distant ages and so
many different countries as Ceylon. There is no nation in ancient or
modern times possessed of a language and a literature, the writers of
which have not at some time made it their theme. Its aspect, its
religion, its antiquities, and productions, have been described as well
by the classic Greeks, as by those of the Lower Empire; by the Romans;
by the writers of China, Burmah, India, and Kashmir; by the geographers
of Arabia and Persia; by the mediaeval voyagers of Italy and France; by
the annalists of Portugal and Spain; by the merchant adventurers of
Holland, and by the travellers and topographers of Great Britain.
But amidst this wealth of materials as to the island, and its
vicissitudes in early times, there is an absolute dearth of information
regarding its state and progress during more recent periods, and its
actual condition at the present day.
I was made sensible of this want, on the occasion of my nomination, in
1845, to an office in connection with the government of Ceylon. I found
abundant details as to the capture of the maritime provinces from the
Dutch in 1795, in the narrative of Captain PERCIVAL[1], an officer who
had served in the expedition; and the efforts to organise the first
system of administration are amply described by CORDINER[2], Chaplain to
the Forces; by Lord VALENTIA[3], who was then travelling in the East;
and by ANTHONY BERTOLACCI[4], who acted as auditor-general to the first
governor, Mr. North, afterwards Earl of Guilford. The story of the
capture of Kandy in 1815 has been related by an anonymous eye-witness
under the pseudonyme of PHILALETHES[5], and by MARSHALL in his
_Historical Sketch_ of the conquest.[6] An admirable description of the
interior of the island, as it presented itself some forty years ago, was
furnished by Dr. DAVY[7], a brother of the eminent philosopher, who was
employed on the medical staff in Ceylon, from 1816 till 1820.
[Footnote 1: _An Account of the Island of Ceylon_, &c., by Capt. R.
PERCIVAL, 4to. London, 1805.]
[Footnote 2: _A Description of Ceylon_, &c., by the Rev. JAMES CORDINER,
A.M. 2 vols. 4to. London, 1807.]
[Footnote 3: _Voyages and Travels to India, Ceylon, and the Red Sea_, by
Lord Viscount VALENTIA. 3 vols. 4to. London, 1809.]
[Footnote 4: _A View of the Agricultural, Commercial, and Financial
Interests of Ceylon_, &c., by A. BERTOLACCI, Esq. London, 1817.]
[Footnote 5: _A History of Ceylon from the earliest Period to the Year_
MDCCCXV, by PHILALETHES, A.M. 4to. Lond. 1817. The author is believed to
have been the Rev. G. Bisset.]
[Footnote 6: HENRY MARSHALL, F.R.S.E., &c. went to Ceylon as assistant
surgeon of the 89th regiment, in 1806, and from 1816 till 1821 was the
senior medical officer of the Kandyan provinces.]
[Footnote 7: _An Account of the Interior of Ceylon_, &c., by JOHN DAVY,
M.D. 4to, London, 1821.]
Here the long series of writers is broken, just at the commencement of a
period the most important and interesting in the history of the island.
The mountain zone, which for centuries had been mysteriously hidden from
the Portuguese and Dutch[1] was suddenly opened to British enterprise in
1815. The lofty region, from behind whose barrier of hills the kings of
Kandy had looked down and defied the arms of three successive European
nations, was at last rendered accessible by the grandest mountain road
in India; and in the north of the island, the ruins of ancient cities,
and the stupendous monuments of an early civilisation, were discovered
in the solitudes of the great central forests. English merchants
embarked in the renowned trade in cinnamon, which we had wrested from
the Dutch; and British capitalists introduced the cultivation of coffee
into the previously inaccessible highlands. Changes of equal magnitude
contributed to alter the social position of the natives; domestic
slavery was extinguished; compulsory labour, previously exacted from the
free races, was abolished; and new laws under a charter of justice
superseded the arbitrary rule of the native chiefs. In the course of
less than half a century, the aspect of the country became changed, the
condition of the people was submitted to new influences; and the time
arrived to note the effects of this civil revolution.
[Footnote 1: VALENTYN, In his great work on the Dutch possessions in
India, _Oud_ _en Nieuw Oost-Indien_, alludes more than once with regret
to the ignorance in which his countrymen were kept as to the interior of
Ceylon, concerning which their only information was obtained through
fugitives and spies. (Vol. v. ch. ii. p. 35; ch. xv. p. 205.)]
But on searching for books such as I expected to find, recording the
phenomena consequent on these domestic and political events, I was
disappointed to discover that they were few in number and generally
meagre in information. Major FORBES, who in 1826 and for some years
afterwards held a civil appointment in the Kandyan country, published an
interesting account of his observations[1]; and his work derives value
from the attention which the author had paid to the ancient records of
the island, whose contents were then undergoing investigation by the
erudite and indefatigable TURNOUR.[2]
[Footnote 1: _Eleven Years in Ceylon_, &c., by Major FORBES. 2 vols.
8vo. London. 1840.]
[Footnote 2: See Vol. I. Part III. ch. iii. p. 312.]
In 1843 Mr. BENNETT, a retired civil servant of the colony, who had
studied some branches of its natural history, and especially its
ichthyology, embodied his experiences in a volume entitled "_Ceylon and
its Capabilities_," containing a mass of information, somewhat defective
in arrangement. These and a number of minor publications, chiefly
descriptive of sporting tours in search of elephants and deer, with
incidental notices of the sublime scenery and majestic ruins of the
island, were the only modern works that treated of Ceylon; but no one of
them sufficed to furnish a connected view of the colony at the present
day, contrasting its former state with the condition to which it has
attained under the government of Great Britain.
On arriving in Ceylon and entering on my official functions, this
absence of local knowledge entailed frequent inconvenience. In my tours
throughout the interior, I found ancient monuments, apparently defying
decay, of which no one could tell the date or the founder; and temples
and cities in ruins, whose destroyers were equally unknown. There were
vast structures of public utility, on which the prosperity of the
country had at one time been dependent; artificial lakes, with their
conduits and canals for irrigation; the condition of which rendered it
interesting to ascertain the period of their formation, and the causes
of their abandonment; but to every inquiry of this nature, there was the
same unvarying reply: that information regarding them might possibly be
found in the _Mahawanso_ or in some other of the native chronicles; but
that few had ever read them, and none had succeeded in reproducing them
for popular instruction.
A still more serious embarrassment arose from the want of authorities to
throw light on questions that were sometimes the subject of
administrative deliberation: there were native customs which no
available materials sufficed to illustrate; and native claims, often
serious in their importance, the consideration of which was obstructed
by a similar dearth of authentic data. With a view to executive
measures, I was frequently desirous of consulting the records of the two
European governments, under which the island had been administered for
300 years before the arrival of the British; their experience might have
served as a guide, and even their failures would have pointed out errors
to be avoided; but here, again, I had to encounter disappointment: in
answer to my inquiries, I was assured that _the records, both of the
Portuguese and Dutch, had long since disappeared from the archives of
the colony_.
Their loss, whilst in our custody, is the more remarkable, considering
the value which was attached to them by our predecessors. The Dutch, on
the conquest of Ceylon in the seventeenth century, seized the official
accounts and papers of the Portuguese; and a memoir is preserved by
VALENTYN, in which the Governor, Van Goens, on handing over the command
to his successor in 1663, enjoins on him the study of these important
documents, and expresses anxiety for their careful preservation.[1]
[Footnote 1: VALENTYN, _Oud en Nieuw Oost-Indien_, &c., ch. xiii. p.
174.]
The British, on the capture of Colombo in 1796, were equally solicitous
to obtain possession of the records of the Dutch Government. By Art.
XIV. of the capitulation they were required to be "faithfully delivered
over;" and, by Art. XI., all "surveys of the island and its coasts" were
required to be surrendered to the captors.[1] But, strange to say,
almost the whole of these interesting and important papers appear to
have been lost; not a trace of the Portuguese records, so far as I could
discover, remains at Colombo; and if any vestige of those of the Dutch
be still extant, they have probably become illegible from decay and the
ravages of the white ants.[2]
[Footnote 1: Amongst a valuable collection of documents presented to the
Royal Asiatic Society of London, by the late Sir Alexander Johnston,
formerly Chief Justice of Ceylon, there is a volume of Dutch surveys of
the Island, containing important maps of the coast and its harbours, and
plans of the great works for irrigation in the northern and eastern
provinces.]
[Footnote 2: _Note to the second edition_.--Since the first edition was
published, I have been told by a late officer of the Ceylon Government,
that many years ago, what remained of the Dutch records were removed
from the record-room of the Colonial Office to the cutcherry of the
government agent of the western province: where some of them may still
be found.]
But the loss is not utterly irreparable; duplicates of the Dutch
correspondence during their possession of Ceylon are carefully preserved
at Amsterdam; and within the last few years the Trustees of the British
Museum purchased from the library of the late Lord Stuart de Rothesay
the Diplomatic Correspondence and Papers of SEBASTIAO JOZE CARVALHO E
MELLO (Portuguese Ambassador at London and Vienna, and subsequently
known as the Marquis de Pombal), from 1738 to 1747, including sixty
volumes relating to the history of the Portuguese possessions in India
and Brazil during the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries. Amongst the latter
are forty volumes of despatches relative to India entitled _Colleccam
Authentica de todas as Leys, Regimentos, Alvaras e mais ordens que se
expediram para a India_, _desde o establecimento destas conquistas;
Ordenada por proviram de 28 de Marco de 1754_.[1] These contain the
despatches to and from the successive Captains-General and Governors of
Ceylon, so that, in part at least, the replacement of the records lost
in the colony may be effected by transcription.
[Footnote 1: MSS. Brit Mus. No. 20,861 to 20,900.]
Meanwhile in their absence I had no other resource than the narratives
of the Dutch and Portuguese historians, chiefly VALENTYN, DE BARROS, and
DE COUTO, who have preserved in two languages the least familiar in
Europe, chronicles of their respective governments, which, so far as I
am aware, have never been republished in any translation.
The present volumes contain no detailed notice of the _Buddhist faith_
as it exists in Ceylon, of the _Brahmanical rites,_ or of the other
religious superstitions of the island. These I have already described in
my history of _Christianity in Ceylon._[1] The materials for that work
were originally designed to form a portion of the present one; but
having expanded to too great dimensions to be made merely subsidiary, I
formed them into a separate treatise. Along with them I have
incorporated facts illustrative of the national character of the
Singhalese under the conjoint influences of their ancestral
superstitions and the partial enlightenment of education and gospel
truth.
[Footnote 1: _Christianity in Ceylon: its Introduction and Progress
under the Portuguese, the Dutch, the British and American Missions; with
an Historical Sketch of the Brahmanical and Buddhist Superstitons_ by
Sir JAMES EMERSON TENNENT. London, Murray, 1850.]
Respecting the _Physical Geography_ and _Natural History_ of the colony,
I found an equal want of reliable information; and every work that even
touched on the subject was pervaded by the misapprehension which I have
collected evidence to correct; that Ceylon is but a fragment of the
great Indian continent dissevered by some local convulsion; and that the
zoology and botany of the island are identical with those of the
mainland.[1]
[Footnote 1: It may seem presumptuous in me to question the accuracy of
Dr. DAVY'S opinion on this point (see his _Account of the Interior of
Ceylon, &c_., ch. iii. p. 78), but the grounds on which I venture to do
so are stated, Vol. I. pp. 7, 27, 160, 178, 208, &c.]
Thus for almost every particular and fact, whether physical or
historical, I have been to a great extent thrown on my own researches;
and obliged to seek for information in original sources, and in French
and English versions of Oriental authorities. The results of my
investigations are embodied in the following pages; and it only remains
for me to express, in terms however inadequate, my obligations to the
literary and scientific friends by whose aid I have been enabled to
pursue my inquiries.
Amongst these my first acknowledgments are due to Dr. TEMPLETON, of the
Army Medical Staff, for his cordial assistance in numerous departments;
but above all in relation to the physical geography and natural history
of the island. Here his scientific knowledge, successfully cultivated
during a residence of nearly twelve years in Ceylon, and his intimate
familiarity with its zoology and productions, rendered his co-operation
invaluable;--and these sections abound with evidences of the liberal
extent to which his stores of information have been generously imparted.
To him and to Dr. CAMERON, of the Army Medical Staff, I am indebted for
many valuable facts and observations on tropical health and disease,
embodied in the chapter on "_Climate_."
Sir RODERICK I. MURCHISON (without committing himself as to the
controversial portions of the chapter on the _Geology_ and _Mineralogy_
of Ceylon) has done me the favour to offer some valuable suggestions,
and to express his opinion as to the general accuracy of the whole.
Although a feature so characteristic as that of its _Vegetation_ could
not possibly be omitted in a work professing to give an account of
Ceylon, I had neither the space nor the qualifications necessary to
produce a systematic sketch of the Botany of the island. I could only
attempt to describe it as it exhibits itself to an unscientific
spectator; and the notices that I have given are confined to such of the
more remarkable plants as cannot fail to arrest the attention of a
stranger. In illustration of these, I have had the advantage of copious
communications from WILLIAM FERGUSON, Esq., a gentleman attached to the
Survey Department of the Civil Service in Ceylon, whose opportunities
for observation in all parts of the island have enabled him to cultivate
with signal success his taste for botanical pursuits. And I have been
permitted to submit the portion of my work which refers to this subject
to the revision of the highest living authority on Indian botany, Dr.
J.D. HOOKER, of Kew.
Regarding the _fauna_ of Ceylon, little has been published in any
collective form, with the exception of a volume by Dr. KELAART entitled
_Prodromus Faunae Zeilanicae_; several valuable papers by Mr. EDGAR L.
LAYARD in the _Annals and Magazine of Natural History_ for 1852 and
1853; and some very imperfect lists appended to PRIDHAM'S compiled
account of the island.[1] KNOX, in the charming narrative of his
captivity, published in the reign of Charles II., has devoted a chapter
to the animals of Ceylon, and Dr. DAVY has described the principal
reptiles: but with these exceptions the subject is almost untouched in
works relating to the colony. Yet a more than ordinary interest attaches
to the inquiry, since Ceylon, instead of presenting, as is generally
assumed, an identity between its _fauna_ and that of Southern India,
exhibits a remarkable diversity of type, taken in connection with the
limited area over which they are distributed. The island, in fact, may
be regarded as the centre of a geographical circle, possessing within
itself forms, whose allied species radiate far into the temperate
regions of the north, as well as into Africa, Australia, and the isles
of the Eastern Archipelago.
[Footnote 1: _An Historical Political, and Statistical Account of Ceylon
and its Dependencies_, by C. PRIDHAM, Esq. 2 vols. 8vo. London, 1849.
The author was never, I believe, in Ceylon, but his book is a laborious
condensation of the principal English works relating to it. Its value
would have been greatly increased had Mr. Pridham accompanied his
excerpts by references to the respective authorities.]
In the chapters that I have devoted to its elucidation, I have
endeavoured to interest others in the subject, by describing my own
observations and impressions, with fidelity, and with as much accuracy
as may be expected from a person possessing, as I do, no greater
knowledge of zoology and the other physical sciences than is ordinarily
possessed by any educated gentleman. It was my good fortune, however, in
my journies to have the companionship of friends familiar with many
branches of natural science: the late Dr. GARDNER, Mr. EDGAR L. LAYARD,
an accomplished zoologist, Dr. TEMPLETON, and others; and I was thus
enabled to collect on the spot many interesting facts relative to the
structure and habits of the numerous tribes of animals. These, chastened
by the corrections of my fellow-travellers, and established by the
examination of collections made in the colony, and by subsequent
comparison with specimens contained in museums at home, I have ventured
to submit as faithful outlines of the _fauna_ of Ceylon.
The sections descriptive of the several classes are accompanied by
lists, prepared with the assistance of scientific friends, showing the
extent to which each particular branch had been investigated by
naturalists, up to the period of my departure from Ceylon at the close
of 1849. These, besides their inherent interest, will, I trust,
stimulate others to engage in the same pursuits, by exhibiting the
chasms, which it still remains for future industry and research to fill
up;--and the study of the zoology of Ceylon may thus serve as a
preparative for that of Continental India, embracing, as the former
does, much that is common to both, as well as possessing within itself a
fauna peculiar to the island, that will amply repay more extended
scrutiny.
From these lists have been excluded all species regarding the
authenticity of which reasonable doubts could be entertained[1], and of
some of them, a very few have been printed in _italics_, in order to
denote the desirability of comparing them more minutely with well
determined specimens in the great national depositories before finally
incorporating them with the Singhalese catalogues.
[Footnote 1: An exception occurs in the list of shells, prepared by Mr.
SYLVANUS HANLEY, in which some whose localities are doubtful have been
admitted for reasons adduced. (See Vol. I, p. 234.)]
In the labour of collecting and verifying the facts embodied in these
sections, I cannot too warmly express my thanks for the aid I have
received from gentlemen interested in similar pursuits in Ceylon: from
Dr. KELAART and Mr. EDGAR L. LAYARD, as well as from officers of the
Ceylon Civil Service; the HON. GERALD C. TALBOT, Mr. C.E. BULLER, Mr.
MERCER, Mr. MORRIS, Mr. WHITING, Major SKINNER, and Mr. MITFORD.
Before venturing to commit these chapters of my work to the press, I
have had the advantage of having portions of them read by Professor
HUXLEY, Mr. MOORE, of the East India House Museum; Mr. R. PATTERSON,
F.R.S., author of the _Introduction to Zoology_, and by Mr. ADAM WHITE,
of the British Museum; to each of whom I am exceedingly indebted for the
care they have bestowed. In an especial degree I have to acknowledge the
kindness of Dr. J.E. GRAY, F.R.S. for valuable additions and corrections
in the list of the Ceylon Reptilia; and to Professor FARADAY for some
notes on the nature and qualities of the "Serpent Stone,"[1] submitted
to him. I have recorded in its proper place my obligations to Admiral
FITZROY, for his most ingenious theory in elucidation of the phenomena
of the _Tides_ around Ceylon.[2]
[Footnote 1: See Vol. I. Part II. ch. iii. p. 199.]
[Footnote 2: See Vol. II. Part VII. ch. i. p. 116.]
The extent to which my observations on _the Elephant_ have been carried,
requires some explanation. The existing notices of this noble creature
are chiefly devoted to its habits and capabilities _in captivity_; and
very few works, with which I am acquainted, contain illustrations of its
instincts and functions when wild in its native woods. Opportunities for
observing the latter, and for collecting facts in connection with them,
are abundant in Ceylon, and from the moment of my arrival, I profited by
every occasion afforded to me for studying the elephant in a state of
nature, and obtaining from hunters and natives correct information as to
its oeconomy and disposition. Anecdotes in connection with this subject,
I received from some of the most experienced residents In the island;
amongst others, Major SKINNER, Captain PHILIP PAYNE GALLWEY, Mr.
FAIRHOLME, Mr. CRIPPS, and Mr. MORRIS. Nor can I omit to express my
acknowledgments to PROFESSOR OWEN, of the British Museum, to whom this
portion of my manuscript was submitted previous to its committal to the
press.
In the _historical sections_ of the work, I have been reluctantly
compelled to devote a considerable space to a narrative deduced from the
ancient Singhalese chronicles; into which I found it most difficult to
infuse any popular interest. But the toil was not undertaken without a
motive. The oeconomics and hierarchical institutions of Buddhism as
administered through successive dynasties, exercised so paramount an
influence over the habits and occupations of the Singhalese people, that
their impress remains indelible to the present day. The tenure of temple
lands, the compulsory services of tenants, the extension of agriculture,
and the whole system of co-operative cultivation, derived from this
source organisation and development; and the origin and objects of these
are only to be rendered intelligible by an inquiry into the events and
times in which the system took its rise. In connection with this
subject, I am indebted to the representatives of the late Mr. TURNOUR,
of the Ceylon Civil Service, for access to his unpublished manuscripts;
and to those portions of his correspondence with Prinsep, which relate
to the researches of these two distinguished scholars regarding the Pali
annals of Ceylon. I have also to acknowledge my obligations to M. JULES
MOHL, the literary executor of M. E. BURNOUF, for the use of papers left
by that eminent orientalist in illustration of the ancient geography of
the island, as exhibited in the works of Pali and Sanskrit writers.
I have been signally assisted inn my search for materials illustrative
of the social and intellectual condition of the Singhalese nation,
during the early ages of their history, by gentlemen in Ceylon, whose
familiarity with the native languages and literature impart authority to
their communications; by ERNEST DE SARAM WIJEYESEKERE KAROONARATNE, the
Maha-Moodliar and First Interpreter to the Governor; and to Mr. DE
ALWIS, the erudite translator of the _Sidath Sangara._ From the Rev. Mr.
GOGERLY of the Wesleyan Mission, I have received expositions of Buddhist
policy; and the Rev. R SPENCE HARDY, author of the two most important
modern works on the archaeology of Buddhism[1], has done me the favour to
examine the chapter on SINGHALESE _Literature,_ and to enrich it by
numerous suggestions and additions.
[Footnote 1: _Oriental Monachism,_ 8vo. London, 1850; and _A Manual of
Buddhism,_ 8vo. London, 1853]
In like manner I have had the advantage of communicating with MR. COOLEY
(author of the _History of Maritime and Inland Discovery_) in relation
to the _Mediaeval History_ of Ceylon, and the period embraced by the
narrative of the Greek, Arabian, and Italian travellers, between the
fifth and fifteenth centuries.
I have elsewhere recorded my obligations to Mr. WYLIE, and to his
colleague, Mr. LOCKHART of Shanghae, for the materials of one of the most
curious chapters of my work, that which treats of the knowledge of
Ceylon possessed by the Chinese in the Middle Ages. This is a field
which, so far as I know, is untouched by any previous writer on Ceylon.
In the course of my inquires, finding that Ceylon had been, from the
remotest times, the point at which the merchant fleets from the Red Sea
and the Persian Gulf met those from China and the Oriental Archipelago;
thus effecting an exchange of merchandise from East and West; and
discovering that the Arabian and Persian voyagers, on their return, had
brought home copious accounts of the island, it occurred to me that the
Chinese travellers during the same period had in all probability been
equally observant and communicative, and that the results of their
experience might be found in Chinese works of the Middle Ages. Acting on
this conjecture, I addressed myself to a Chinese gentleman, WANG TAO
CHUNG, who was then in England; and he, on his return to Shanghae, made
known my wishes to Mr. WYLIE. My anticipations were more than realised
by Mr. WYLIE'S researches. I received in due course, extracts from
upwards of twenty works by Chinese writers, between the fifth and
fifteenth centuries, and the curious and interesting facts contained in
them are embodied in the chapter devoted to that particular subject. In
addition to these, the courtesy of M. STANISLAS JULIEN, the eminent
French Sinologue, has laid me under a similar obligation for access to
unpublished passages relative to Ceylon, in his translation of the great
work of HIOUEN THSANG; in his translation of the great work of HIOUEN
THSANG; descriptive of the Buddhist country of India in the seventh
century.[1]
[Footnote 1: _Memoires sur les Contrees Occidentales_, traduites du
Sanscrit en Chinois, en l'an 648, par M. STANISLAS JULIEN.]
It is with pain that I advert to that portion of the section which
treats of the British rule in Ceylon; in the course of which the
discovery of the private correspondence of the first Governor, Mr.
North, deposited along with the Wellesley Manuscripts, in the British
Museum[1], has thrown an unexpected light over the fearful events of
1803, and the massacre of the English troops then in garrison at Kandy.
Hitherto the honour of the British Government has been unimpeached in
these dark transactions; and the slaughter of the troops has been
uniformly denounced as an evidence of the treacherous and "tiger-like"
spirit of the Kandyan people.[2] But it is not possible now to read the
narrative of these events, as the motives and secret arrangements of the
Governor with the treacherous Minister of the king are disclosed in the
private letters of Mr. North to the Governor-general of India, without
feeling that the sudden destruction of Major Davie's party, however
revolting the remorseless butchery by which it was achieved, may have
been but the consummation of a revenge provoked by the discovery of the
treason concocted by the Adigar in confederacy with the representative
of the British Crown. Nor is this construction weakened by the fact,
that no immediate vengeance was exacted by the Governor in expiation of
that fearful tragedy; and that the private letters of Mr. North to the
Marquis of Wellesley contain avowals of ineffectual efforts to hush up
the affair, and to obtain a clumsy compromise by inducing the Kandyan
king to make an admission of regret.
[Footnote 1: Additional MSS., Brit. Mus., No. 13864, &c.]
[Footnote 2: DE QUINCEY, _collected Works_, vol. xii. p. 14.]
I am aware that there are passages in the following pages containing
statements that occur more than once in the course of the work. But I
found that in dealing with so many distinct subjects the same fact
became sometimes an indispensable illustration of more than one topic;
and hence repetition was unavoidable even at the risk of tautology.
I have also to apologise for variances in the spelling of proper names,
both of places and individuals, occurring in different passages. In
extenuation of this, I can only plead the difficulty of preserving
uniformity in matters dependent upon mere sound, and unsettled by any
recognised standard of orthography.
I have endeavoured in every instance to append references to other
authors, in support of statements which I have drawn from previous
writers; an arrangement rendered essential by the numerous instances in
which errors, that nothing short of the original authorities can suffice
to expose, have been reproduced and repeated by successive writers on
Ceylon.
To whatever extent the preparation of this work may have fallen short of
its conception, and whatever its demerits in execution and style, I am
not without hope that it will still exhibit evidence that by
perseverance and research I have laboured to render it worthy of the
subject.
JAMES EMERSON TENNENT.
LONDON: _July 13th, 1859._
PART I.
PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY.
CHAPTER I
PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY.--GEOLOGY.--MINERALOGY.--GEMS, CLIMATE, ETC.
GENERAL ASPECT.--Ceylon, from whatever direction it is approached,
unfolds a scene of loveliness and grandeur unsurpassed, if it be
rivalled, by any land in the universe. The traveller from Bengal,
leaving behind the melancholy delta of the Ganges and the torrid coast
of Coromandel; or the adventurer from Europe, recently inured to the
sands of Egypt and the scorched headlands of Arabia, is alike entranced
by the vision of beauty which expands before him as the island rises
from the sea, its lofty mountains covered by luxuriant forests, and its
shores, till they meet the ripple of the waves, bright with the foliage
of perpetual spring.
The Brahmans designated it by the epithet of "the resplendent," and in
their dreamy rhapsodies extolled it as the region of mystery and
sublimity[1]; the Buddhist poets gracefully apostrophised it as "a pearl
upon the brow of India;" the Chinese knew it as the "island of jewels;"
the Greeks as the "land of the hyacinth and the ruby;" the Mahometans,
in the intensity of their delight, assigned it to the exiled parents of
mankind as a new elysium to console them for the loss of Paradise; and
the early navigators of Europe, as they returned dazzled with its gems,
and laden with its costly spices, propagated the fable that far to
seaward the very breeze that blew from it was redolent of perfume.[2] In
later and less imaginative times, Ceylon has still maintained the renown
of its attractions, and exhibits in all its varied charms "the highest
conceivable development of Indian nature."[3]
[Footnote 1: "Ils en ont fait une espece de paradis, et se sont imagine
que des etres d'une nature angelique les habitaient."--ALBYROUNI, Traite
des Eres, &c.; REINAUD, Geographie d'Aboulfeda, Introd. sec. iii. p.
ccxxiv. The renown of Ceylon as it reached Europe in the seventeenth
century is thus summed up by PURCHAS in _His Pilgrimage_, b.v.c. 18, p.
550:--"The heauens with their dewes, the ayre with a pleasant
holesomenesse and fragrant freshnesse, the waters in their many riuers
and fountaines, the earth diuersified in aspiring hills, lowly vales,
equall and indifferent plaines, filled in her inward chambers with
mettalls and jewells, in her outward court and vpper face stored with
whole woods of the best cinnamons that the sunne seeth; besides fruits,
oranges, lemons, &c. surmounting those of Spaine; fowles and beasts,
both tame and wilde (among which is their elephant honoured by a
naturall acknowledgement of excellence of all other elephants in the
world). These all have conspired and joined in common league to present
unto Zeilan the chiefe of worldly treasures and pleasures, with a long
and healthfull life in the inhabitants to enjoye them. No marvell, then,
if sense and sensualitie have heere stumbled on a paradise."]
[Footnote 2: The fable of the "spicy breezes" said to blow from Arabia
and India, is as old as Ctesias; and is eagerly repeated by Pliny? lib.
xii. c. 42. The Greeks borrowed the tale from the Hindus, who believe
that the _Chandana_ or sandal-wood imparts its odours to the winds; and
their poete speak of the Malayan as the westerns did of the Sabaean
breezes. But the allusion to such perfumed winds was a trope common to
all the discoverers of unknown lands: the companions of Columbus
ascribed them to the region of the Antilles; and Verrazani and Sir
Walter Raleigh scented them off the coast of Carolina. Milton borrowed
from Diodorus Siculus, lib. iii. c. 46, the statement that:
"Far off at sea north-east winds blow
Sabaean odours from the spicy shore
Of Araby the Blest."
(_P.L._ iv. 163.)
Ariosto employs the same imaginative embellishment to describe the
charms of Cyprus:
"Serpillo e persa e rose e gigli e croco
Spargon dall'odorifero terreno
Tanta suavita, ch'in mar sentire
La fa ogni vento che da terra spire."
(_Oil. Fur._ xviii. 138.)
That some aromatic smell is perceptible far to seaward, in the vicinity
of certain tropical countries, is unquestionable; and in the instance of
Cuba, an odour like that of violets, which is discernible two or three
miles from land, when the wind is off the shore, has been traced by
Poeppig to a species of _Tetracera_, a climbing plant which diffuses its
odour during the night. But in the case of Ceylon? if the existence of
such a perfume be not altogether imaginary, the fact has been falsified
by identifying the alleged fragrance with cinnamon; the truth being that
the cinnamon laurel, unless it be crushed, exhales no aroma whatever;
and the peculiar odour of the spice is only perceptible after the bark
has been separated and dried.]
[Footnote 3: LASSEN, _Indische Alterthumskunde_ vol. i. p. 198.]
_Picturesque Outline_.--The nucleus of its mountain masses consists of
gneissic, granitic, and other crystalline rocks, which in their
resistless upheaval have rent the superincumbent strata, raising them
into lofty pyramids and crags, or hurling them in gigantic fragments to
the plains below. Time and decay are slow in their assaults on these
towering precipices and splintered pinnacles; and from the absence of
more perishable materials, there are few graceful sweeps along the
higher chains or rolling downs in the lower ranges of the hills. Every
bold elevation is crowned by battlemented cliffs, and flanked by chasms
in which the shattered strata are seen as sharp and as rugged as if they
had but recently undergone the grand convulsion that displaced them.
_Foliage and Verdure_.--The soil in these regions is consequently light
and unremunerative, but the plentiful moisture arising from the
interception of every passing vapour from the Indian Ocean and the Bay
of Bengal, added to the intense warmth of the atmosphere, combine to
force a vegetation so rich and luxuriant, that imagination can picture
nothing more wondrous and charming; every level spot is enamelled with
verdure, forests of never-fading bloom cover mountain and valley;
flowers of the brightest hues grow in profusion over the plains, and
delicate climbing plants, rooted in the shelving rocks, hang in huge
festoons down the edge of every precipice.
Unlike the forests of Europe, in which the excess of some peculiar trees
imparts a character of monotony and graveness to the outline and
colouring, the forests of Ceylon are singularly attractive from the
endless variety of their foliage, and the vivid contrast of its hues.
The mountains, especially those looking towards the east and south, rise
abruptly to prodigious and almost precipitous heights above the level
plains; the rivers wind through woods below like threads of silver
through green embroidery, till they are lost in a dim haze which
conceals the far horizon; and through this a line of tremulous light
marks where the sunbeams are glittering among the waves upon the distant
shore.
From age to age a scene so lovely has imparted a colouring of romance to
the adventures of the seamen who, in the eagerness of commerce, swept
round the shores of India, to bring back the pearls and precious stones,
the cinnamon and odours, of Ceylon. The tales of the Arabians are
fraught with the wonders of "Serendib;" and the mariners of the Persian
Gulf have left a record of their delight in reaching the calm havens of
the island, and reposing for months together in valleys where the waters
of the sea were overshadowed by woods, and the gardens were blooming in
perennial summer.[1]
[Footnote 1: REINAUD, _Relation des Voyages Arabes, &c., dans le
neuvieme siecle_. Paris, 1845, tom. ii. p. 129.]
_Geographical Position_.--Notwithstanding the fact that the Hindus, in
their system of the universe, had given prominent importance to Ceylon,
their first meridian, "the meridian of Lanka," being supposed to pass
over the island, they propounded the most extravagant ideas, both as to
its position and extent; expanding it to the proportions of a continent,
and at the same time placing it a considerable distance south-east of
India.[1]
[Footnote 1: For a condensed account of the dimensions and position
attributed to Lanka, in the Mythic Astronomy of the Hindus, see
REINAUD's _Introduction to Aboulfeda_, sec. iii. p. ccxvii., and his
_Memoire sur l'Inde_, p. 342; WILFORD's _Essay on the Sacred Isles of
the West_, Asiat. Researches, vol. x, p. 140.]
The native Buddhist historians, unable to confirm the exaggerations of
the Brahmans, and yet reluctant to detract from the epic renown of their
country by disclaiming its stupendous dimensions, attempted to reconcile
its actual extent with the fables of the eastern astronomers by imputing
to the agency of earthquakes the submersion of vast regions by the
sea.[1] But evidence is wanting to corroborate the assertion of such an
occurrence, at least within the historic period; no record of it exists
in the earliest writings of the Hindus, the Arabians, or Persians; who,
had the tradition survived, would eagerly have chronicled a catastrophe
so appalling.[2] Geologic analogy, so far as an inference is derivable
from the formation of the adjoining coasts, both of India and Ceylon, is
opposed to its probability; and not only plants, but animals, mammalia,
birds, reptiles, and insects, exist in Ceylon, which are not to be found
in the flora or fauna of the Indian continent.[3]
[Footnote 1: SIR WILLIAM JONES adopted the legendary opinion that Ceylon
"formerly perhaps, extended much farther to the west and south, so as to
include Lanka or the equinoctial point of the Indian
astronomers."--_Discourse on the Institution of a Society for inquiring
into the History, &c., of the Borderers, Mountaineers, and Islanders of
Asia_.--Works, vol. i. p. 120.
The Portuguese, on their arrival in Ceylon in the sixteenth century,
found the natives fully impressed by the traditions of its former extent
and partial submersion; and their belief in connection with it, will be
found in the narratives and histories of De Barros and Diogo de Couto,
from which they have been transferred, almost without abridgment, to the
pages of Valentyn. The substance of the native legends will be found in
the _Mahawanso_, c. xxii. p. 131; and _Rajavali_, p. 180, 190.]
[Footnote 2: The first disturbance of the coast by which Ceylon is
alleged to have been severed from the main land is said by the Buddhists
to have taken place B.C. 2387; a second commotion is ascribed to the age
of Panduwaasa, B.C. 504; and the subsidence of the shore adjacent to
Colombo is said to have taken place 200 years later, in the reign of
Devenipiatissa, B.C. 306. The event is thus recorded in the _Rajavali_,
one of the sacred books of Ceylon:--"In these days the sea was seven
leagues from Kalany; but on account of what had been done to the
teeroonansee (a priest who had been tortured by the king of Kalany), the
gods who were charged with the conservation of Ceylon, became enraged
and caused the sea to deluge the land; and as during the epoch called
_duwapawrayaga_ on account of the wickedness of Rawana, 25 palaces and
400,000 streets were all over-run by the sea, so now in this time of
Tissa Raja, 100,000 large towns, 910 fishers' villages, and 400 villages
inhabited by pearl fishers, making together eleven-twelfths of the
territory of Kalany, were swallowed up by the sea."--_Rajavali_, vol.
ii. p. 180, 190.
FORBES observes the coincidence that the legend of the rising of the sea
in the age of Panduwaasa, 2378 B.C., very nearly concurs with the date
assigned to the Deluge of Noah, 2348,--_Eleven Years in Ceylon_, vol.
ii. p. 258. A tradition is also extant, that a submersion took place at
a remote period on the east coast of Ceylon, whereby the island of
Giri-dipo, which is mentioned in the first chapter of the _Mahawanso_,
was engulfed, and the dangerous rocks called the Great and Little Basses
are believed to be remnants of it.--_Mahawanso_, c. i.
A _resume_ of the disquisitions which have appeared at various times as
to the submersion of a part of Ceylon, will be found in a Memoir _sur la
Geographie ancienne de Ceylon_, in the Journal Asiatique for January,
1857, 5th ser., vol. ix. p. 12; see also TURNOUR'S _Introd. to the
Mahawanso_, p. xxxiv.]
[Footnote 3: Some of the mammalia peculiar to the island are enumerated
at p. 160; birds found in Ceylon but not existing in India are alluded
to at p. 178, and Dr. A. GUENTHER, in a paper on the _Geographical
Distribution of Reptiles_, in the _Mag. of Nat. Hist._ for March, 1859,
says, "amongst these larger islands which are connected with the middle
palaeotropical region, none offers forms so different from the continent
and other islands as Ceylon. It might be considered the Madagascar of
the Indian region. We not only find there peculiar genera and species,
not again to be recognised in other parts; but even many of the common
species exhibit such remarkable varieties, as to afford ample means for
creating new nominal species," p. 280. The difference exhibited between
the insects of Ceylon and those of Hindustan and the Dekkan are noticed
by Mr. Walker in the present work, p. ii. ch. vii, vol. i. p. 270. See
on this subject RITTER'S _Erdkunde_, vol. iv. p. 17.]
Still in the infancy of geographical knowledge, and before Ceylon had
been circumnavigated by Europeans, the mythical delusions of the Hindus
were transmitted to the West, and the dimensions of the island were
expanded till its southern extremity fell below the equator, and its
breadth was prolonged till it touched alike on Africa and China.[1]
[Footnote 1: GIBBON, ch. xxiv.]
The Greeks who, after the Indian conquests of Alexander, brought back
the earliest accounts of the East, repeated them without material
correction, and reported the island to be nearly twenty times its actual
extent. Onesicritus, a pilot of the expedition, assigned to it a
magnitude of 5000 stadia, equal to 500 geographical miles.[1]
Eratosthenes attempted to fix its position, but went so widely astray
that his first (that is his most southern) parallel passed through it
and the "Cinnamon Land," the _Regio Cinnamomifera_, on the east coast of
Africa.[2] He placed Ceylon at the distance of seven days' sail from the
south of India, and he too assigned to its western coast an extent of
5000 stadia.[3] Both those authorities are quoted by Strabo, who says
that the size of Taprobane was not less than that of Britain.[4]
[Footnote 1: STRABO, lib. v. Artemidorus (100 B.C.), quoted by Stephanus
of Byzantium, gives to Ceylon a length of 7000 stadia and a breadth of
500.]
[Footnote 2: STRABO, lib. ii. c. i. s. 14.]
[Footnote 3: The text of Strabo showing this measure makes it in some
places 8000 (Strabo, lib. v.); and Pliny, quoting Eratosthenes, makes it
7000.]
[Footnote 4: STRABO, lib. ii. c. v. s. 32. Aristotle appears to have had
more correct information, and says Ceylon was not so large as
Britain.--_De Mundo_ ch. iii.]
The round numbers employed by those authors, and by the Greek
geographers generally, who borrow from them, serve to show that their
knowledge was merely collected from rumours; and that in all probability
they were indebted for their information to the stories of Arabian or
Hindu sailors returning from the Eastern seas.
Pliny learned from the Singhalese Ambassador who visited Rome in the
reign of Claudius, that the breadth of Ceylon was 10,000 stadia from
west to east; and Ptolemy fully developed the idea of his predecessors,
that it lay opposite to the "Cinnamon Land," and assigned to it a length
from north to south of nearly _fifteen degrees_, with a breadth of
_eleven_, an exaggeration of the truth nearly twenty-fold.[1]
Agathemerus copies Ptolemy; and the plain and sensible author of the
"Periplus" (attributed to Arrian), still labouring with the delusion of
the magnitude of Ceylon, makes it stretch almost to the opposite coast
of Africa.[2]
[Footnote 1: PTOLEMY, lib. vii. c. 4.]
[Footnote 2: ARRIAN, _Periplus_, p. 35. Marcianus Heracleota (whose
Periplus has been reprinted by HUDSON, in the same collection from which
I have made the reference to that of Arrian) gives to Ceylon a length of
9500 stadia with a breadth of 7500.--MAR. HER. p. 26.]
These extravagant ideas of the magnitude of Ceylon were not entirely
removed till many centuries later. The Arabian geographers, Massoudi,
Edrisi, and Aboulfeda, had no accurate data by which to correct the
errors of their Greek predecessors. The maps of the fourteenth and
fifteenth centuries repeated their distortions[1]; and Marco Polo, in
the fourteenth century, who gives the island the usual exaggerated
dimensions, yet informs us that it is now but one half the size it had
been at a former period, the rest having been engulfed by the sea.[2]
[Footnote 1: For an account of Ceylon as it is figured in the
_Mappe-mondes_ of the Middle Ages, see the _Essai_ of the VICOMTE DE
SANTAREM, _Sur la Cosmographie et Cartographie_, tom. iii. p. 335, &c.]
[Footnote 2: MARCO POLO, p. 2, c. 148. A later authority than Marco
Polo, PORCACCHI, in his _Isolario_, or "Description of the most
celebrated Islands in the World," which was published at Venice in A.D.
1576, laments his inability even at that time to obtain any authentic
information as to the boundaries and dimensions of Ceylon; and, relying
on the representations of the Moors, who then carried on an active trade
around its coasts, he describes it as lying under the equinoctial line,
and possessing a circuit of 2100 miles. "Ella gira di circuito, secondo
il calcole fatto da Mori, che modernamente l'hanno nauigato
d'ogn'intorno due mila et cento miglia et corre maestro e sirocco; et per
il mezo d'essa passa la linea equinottiale et e el principio del primo
clima al terzo paralello."--_L'Isole piu Famose del Monde, descritte da_
THOMASO PORCACCHI, lib. iii. p. 30.]
Such was the uncertainty thrown over the geography of the island by
erroneous and conflicting accounts, that grave doubts came to be
entertained of its identity, and from the fourteenth century, when the
attention of Europe was re-directed to the nascent science of geography,
down to the close of the seventeenth, it remained a question whether
Ceylon or Sumatra was the Taprobane of the Greeks.[1]
[Footnote 1: GIBBON states, that "Salmasius and most of the ancients
confound the islands of Ceylon and Sumatra."--_Decl. and Fall_ ch. xl.
This is a mistake. Saumaise was one of those who maintained a correct
opinion; and, as regards the "ancients," they had very little knowledge
of _Further India_ to which Sumatra belongs; but so long as Greek and
Roman literature maintained their influence, no question was raised as
to the identity of Ceylon and Taprobane. Even in the sixth century
Cosmas Indicopleustes declares unhesitatingly that the Sielediva of the
Indians was the Taprobane of the Greeks.
It was only on emerging from the general ignorance of the Middle Ages
that the doubt was first promulgated. In the Catalan Map of A.D. 1375,
entitled _Image du Monde_, Ceylon is omitted, and Taprobane is
represented by Sumatra (MALTE BRUN, _Hist. de Geogr._ vol. i, p. 318);
in that of _Fra Mauro_, the Venetian monk, A.D. 1458, Seylan is given,
but _Taprobane_ is added over _Sumatra_. A similar error appears in the
_Mappe-monde,_ by RUYCH, in the Ptolemy of A.D. 1508, and in the
writings of the geographers of the sixteenth century, GEMMA FRISIUS,
SEBASTIAN MUNSTER, RAMUSIO, JUL. SCALIGER, ORTELIUS, and MERCATOR. The
same view was adopted by the Venetian NICOLA DI CONTI, in the first half
of the fifteenth century, by the Florentine ANDREA CORSALI, MAXIMILIANUS
TRANSYLVANUS, VARTHEMA, and PIGAFETTA. The chief cause of this
perplexity was, no doubt, the difficulty of reconciling the actual
position and size of Ceylon with the dimensions and position assigned to
it by Strabo and Ptolemy, the latter of whom, by an error which is
elsewhere explained, extended the boundary of the island far to the east
of its actual site. But there was a large body of men who rejected the
claim of Sumatra, and DE BARROS, SALMASIUS, BOCHART CLUVERIUS,
CELLARIUS, ISAAC VOSSIUS and others, maintained the title of Ceylon. A
_Mappe-monde_ of A.D. 1417, preserved in the Pitti Palace at Florence
compromises the dispute by designating Sumatra _Taprobane Major_. The
controversy came to an end at the beginning of the eighteenth century,
when the overpowering authority of DELISLE resolved the doubt, and
confirmed the modern Ceylon as the Taprobane of antiquity. WILFORD, in
the _Asiatic Researches_ (vol. x. p. 140), still clung to the opposite
opinion, and KANT undertook to prove that Taprobane was Madagascar.]
_Latitude and Longitude_.--There has hitherto been considerable
uncertainty as to the position assigned to Ceylon in the various maps
and geographical notices of the island: these have been corrected by
more recent observations, and its true place has been ascertained to be
between 5 deg. 55' and 9 deg. 51' north latitude, and 79 deg. 41' 40" and
81 deg. 54' 50" east longitude. Its extreme length from north to south,
from Point Palmyra to Dondera Head, is 271-1/2 miles; its greatest width
137-1/2 miles, from Colombo on the west coast to Sangemankande on the
east; and its area, including its dependent islands, 25,742 miles, or
about one-sixth smaller than Ireland.[1]
[Footnote 1: Down to a very recent period no British colony was more
imperfectly surveyed and mapped than Ceylon; but since the recent
publication by Arrowsmith of the great map by General Fraser, the
reproach has been withdrawn, and no dependency of the Crown is more
richly provided in this particular. In the map of Schneider, the
Government engineer in 1813, two-thirds of the Kandyan Kingdom are a
blank; and in that of the Society for the Diffusion of Knowledge,
re-published so late as 1852, the rich districts of Neuera-kalawa and
the Wanny, in which there are innumerable villages (and scarcely a
hill), are marked as "_unknown mountainous region_." General Fraser,
after the devotion of a lifetime to the labour, has produced a survey
which, in extent and minuteness of detail, stands unrivalled. In this
great work he had the co-operation of Major Skinner and of Captain
Gallwey, and to these two gentlemen the public are indebted for the
greater portion of the field-work and the trigonometrical operations. To
judge of the difficulties which beset such an undertaking, it must be
borne in mind that till very recently travelling in the interior of
Ceylon was all but impracticable, in a country unopened even by bridle
roads, across unbridged rivers, over mountains never trod by the foot of
a European, and amidst precipices inaccessible to all but the most
courageous and prudent. Add to this that the country is densely covered
with forest and jungle, with trees a hundred feet high, from which here
and there the branches had to be cleared to obtain a sight of the signal
stations. The triangulation was carried on amidst privations,
discomfort, and pestilence, which frequently prostrated the whole party,
and forced their attendants to desert them rather than encounter such
hardships and peril. The materials collected by the colleagues of
General Fraser under these discouragements have been worked up by him
with consummate skill and perseverance. The base line, five and a
quarter miles in length, was measured in 1845 in the cinnamon plantation
at Kaderani, to the north of Colombo, and its extremities are still
marked by two towers, which it was necessary to raise to the height of
one hundred feet, to enable them to be discerned above the surrounding
forests. These it is to be hoped will be carefully kept from decay, as
they may again be called into requisition.
As regards the sea line of Ceylon, an admirable chart of the West coast,
from Adam's Bridge to Dondera Head, has been published by the East India
Company from a survey in 1845. But information is sadly wanted as to the
East and North, of which no accurate charts exist, except of a few
unconnected points, such as the harbour of Trincomalie.]
_General Form_.--In its general outline the island resembles a pear--and
suggests to its admiring inhabitants the figure of those pearls which
from their elongated form are suspended from the tapering end. When
originally upheaved above the ocean its shape was in all probability
nearly circular, with a prolongation in the direction of north-east. The
mountain zone in the south, covering an area of about 4212 miles[1], may
then have formed the largest proportion of its entire area--and the belt
of low lands, known as the Maritime Provinces, consists to a great
extent of soil from the disintegration of the gneiss, detritus from the
hills, alluvium carried down the rivers, and marine deposits gradually
collected on the shore. But in addition to these, the land has for ages
been slowly rising from the sea, and terraces abounding in marine shells
imbedded in agglutinated sand occur in situations far above high-water
mark. Immediately inland from Point de Galle, the surface soil rests on
a stratum of decomposing coral; and sea shells are found at a
considerable distance from the shore. Further north at Madampe, between
Chilaw and Negombo, the shells of pearl oysters and other bivalves are
turned up by the plough more than ten miles from the sea.
[Illustration]
[Footnote 1: This includes not only the lofty mountains suitable for the
cultivation of coffee, but the lower ranges and spurs which connect them
with the maritime plains.]
These recent formations present themselves in a still more striking form
in the north of the island, the greater portion of which may be regarded
as the conjoint production of the coral polypi, and the currents, which
for the greater portion of the year set impetuously towards the south.
Coming laden with alluvial matter collected along the coast of
Coromandel, and meeting with obstacles south of Point Calimere, they
have deposited their burthens on the coral reefs round Point Pedro; and
these gradually raised above the sea-level, and covered deeply by sand
drifts, have formed the peninsula of Jaffna and the plains that trend
westward till they unite with the narrow causeway of Adam's
Bridge--itself raised by the same agencies, and annually added to by the
influences of the tides and monsoons.[1]
[Footnote 1: The barrier known as Adam's Bridge, which obstructs the
navigation of the channel between Ceylon and Ramnad, consists of several
parallel ledges of conglomerate and sandstone, hard at the surface, and
growing coarse and soft as it descends till it rests on a bank of sand,
apparently accumulated by the influence of the currents at the change of
the monsoons. See an _Essay_ by Captain STEWART _on the Paumbem
Passage_. Colombo, 1837. See Vol. II. p. 554.]
On the north-west side of the island, where the currents are checked by
the obstruction of Adam's Bridge, and still water prevails in the Gulf
of Manaar, these deposits have been profusely heaped, and the low sandy
plains have been proportionally extended; whilst on the south and east,
where the current sweeps unimpeded along the coast, the line of the
shore is bold and occasionally rocky.
This explanation of the accretion and rising of the land is somewhat
opposed to the popular belief that Ceylon was torn from the main land of
India[1] by a convulsion, during which the Gulf of Manaar and the narrow
channel at Paumbam were formed by the submersion of the adjacent land.
The two theories might be reconciled by supposing the sinking to have
occurred at an early period, and to have been followed by the uprising
still in progress. But on a closer examination of the structure and
direction of the mountain system of Ceylon, it exhibits no traces of
submersion. It seems erroneous to regard it as a prolongation of the
Indian chains; it lies far to the east of the line formed by the Ghauts
on either side of the peninsula, and any affinity which it exhibits is
rather with the equatorial direction of the intersecting ranges of the
Nilgherries and the Vindhya. In their geological elements there is,
doubtless, a similarity between the southern extremity of India and the
elevated portions of Ceylon; but there are also many important
particulars in which their specific differences are irreconcilable with
the conjecture of previous continuity. In the north of Ceylon there is a
marked preponderance of aqueous strata, which are comparatively rare in
the vicinity of Cape Comorin; and whilst the rocks of the former are
entirely destitute of organic remains[2]; fossils, both terrestrial and
pelagic, have been found in the Eastern Ghauts, and sandstone, in some
instances, overlays the primary rocks which compose them. The rich and
black soil to the south of the Nilgherries presents a strong contrast to
the red and sandy earth of the opposite coast; and both in the flora and
fauna of the island there are exceptional peculiarities which suggest a
distinction between it and the Indian continent.
[Footnote 1: LASSEN, _Indische Alterthumskunde_, vol. i. p. 193.]
[Footnote 2: At Cutchavelly, north of Trincomalie, there exists a bed of
calcareous clay, in which shells and crustaceans are found in a
semi-fossilised state; but they are all of recent species, principally
_Macrophthalmus_ and _Scylla_. The breccia at Jaffna contains recent
shells, as does also the arenaceous strata on the western coast of
Manaar and in the neighbourhood of Galle. The existence of the
fossilised crustaceans in the north of Ceylon was known to the early
Arabian navigators. Abou-zeyd describes them as, "Un animal de mer qui
resemble a l'ecrevisse; quand cet animal sort de la mer, _il se
convertit en pierre_." See REINAUD, _Voyages faits par les Arabes_, vol.
i. p. 21. The Arabs then; and the Chinese at the present day, use these
petrifactions when powdered as a specific for diseases of the eye.]
_Mountain System_.--At whatever period the mountains of Ceylon may have
been raised, the centre of maximum energy must have been in the vicinity
of Adam's Peak, the group immediately surrounding which has thus
acquired an elevation of from six to eight thousand feet above the
sea.[1] The uplifting force seems to have been exerted from south-west
to north-east; and although there is much confusion in many of the
intersecting ridges, the lower ranges, especially those to the south and
west of Adam's Peak, from Saffragam to Ambogammoa, manifest a remarkable
tendency to run in parallel ridges in a direction from south-east to
north-west.
[Footnote 1: The following are the heights of a few of the most
remarkable places:--
Pedrotallagalla 8280 English feet.
Kirrigalpotta 7810 English feet.
Totapella 7720 English feet.
Adam's Peak 7420 English feet.
Nammoone-Koolle 6740 English feet.
Plain of Neuera-ellia 6210 English feet.]
Towards the north, on the contrary, the offsets of the mountain system,
with the exception of those which stretch towards Trincomalie, radiate
to short distances in various directions, and speedily sink down to the
level of the plain. Detached hills of great altitude are rare, the most
celebrated being that of Mihintala, which overlooks the sacred city of
Anarajapoora: and Sigiri is the only example in Ceylon of those solitary
acclivities, which form so remarkable a feature in the table-land of the
Dekkan, starting abruptly from the plain with scarped and perpendicular
sides, and converted by the Indians into strongholds, accessible only by
precipitous pathways, or steps hewn in the solid rock.
The crest of the Ceylon mountains is of stratified crystalline rock,
especially gneiss, with extensive veins of quartz, and through this the
granite has been everywhere intruded, distorting the riven strata, and
tilting them at all angles to the horizon. Hence at the abrupt
terminations of some of the chains in the district of Saffragam,
plutonic rocks are seen mingled with the dislocated gneiss. Basalt makes
its appearance both at Galle and Trincomalie. In one place to the east
of Pettigalle-Kanda, the rocks have been broken up in such confusion as
to resemble the effect of volcanic action--huge masses overhang each
other like suddenly-cooled lava; and Dr. Gygax, a Swiss mineralogist,
who was employed by the Government in 1847 to examine and report on the
mineral resources of the district, stated, on his return, that having
seen the volcanoes of the Azores, he found a "strange similarity at this
spot to one of the semi-craters round the trachytic ridge of
Seticidadas, in the island of St. Michael."[1]
[Footnote 1: Beyond the very slightest symptoms of disturbance,
earthquakes are unknown in Ceylon: and although its geology exhibits
little evidence of volcanic action (with the exception of the basalt,
which occasionally presents an appearance approaching to that of lava),
there are some other incidents that seem to suggest the vicinity of
fire; more particularly the occurrence of springs of high temperature,
one at Badulla, one at Kitool, near Bintenne, another near Yavi Ooto, in
the Veddah country, and a fourth at Cannea, near Trincomalie. I have
heard of another near the Patipal Aar south of Batticaloa. The water in
each is so pure and free from salts that the natives make use of it for
all domestic purposes. Dr. Davy adverts to another indication of
volcanic agency in the sudden and profound depth of the noble harbour at
Trincomalie, which even close by the beach is said to have been hitherto
unfathomed.
The Spaniards believed Ceylon to be volcanic; and ARGENSOLA, in his
_Conquista de las Malucas_, Madrid, 1609, says it produced liquid
bitumen and sulphur:--"Fuentes de betun liquido y bolcanes de perpetuas
llamas que arrojan entre las asperezas de la montana losas de
acufre."--Lib. v. p. 184. It is needless to say that this is altogether
imaginary.]
_Gneiss_.--The great geological feature of the island is, however, the
profusion of gneiss, and the various new forms arising from its
disintegration. In the mountains, with the exception of occasional beds
of dolomite, no more recent formations overlie it; from the period of
its first upheaval, the gneiss has undergone no second submersion, and
the soil which covers it in these lofty altitudes is formed almost
entirely by its decay.
In the lower ranges of the hills, gigantic portions of gneiss rise
conspicuously, so detached from the original chain and so rounded by the
action of the atmosphere, aided by their concentric lamellation, that
but for their prodigious dimensions, they might be regarded as boulders.
Close under one of these cylindrical masses, 600 feet in height, and
upwards of three miles in length, the town of Kornegalle, one of the
ancient capitals of the island, has been built; and the great temple of
Dambool, the most remarkable Buddhist edifice in Ceylon, is constructed
under the hollow edge of another, its gilded roof being formed by the
inverted arch of the natural stone. The tendency of the gneiss to assume
these concentric and almost circular forms has been taken advantage of
for this purpose by the Singhalese priests, and some of their most
venerated temples are to be found under the shadow of the overarching
strata, to the imperishable nature of which the priests point as
symbolical of the eternal duration of their faith.[1]
[Footnote 1: The concentric lamellar strata of the gneiss sometimes
extend with a radius so prolonged that slabs may be cut from them and
used in substitution for beams of timber, and as such they are
frequently employed in the construction of Buddhist temples. At
Piagalla, on the road between Galle and Colombo, within about four miles
of Caltura, there is a gneiss hill of this description on which a temple
has been so erected. In this particular rock the garnets usually found
in gneiss are replaced by rubies, and nothing can exceed the beauty of
the hand-specimens procurable from a quarry close to the high road on
the landward side; in which, however, the gems are in every case reduced
to splinters.]
_Laterite or "Cabook_."--A peculiarity, which is one of the first to
strike a stranger who lands at Galle or Colombo, is the bright red
colour of the streets and roads, contrasting vividly with the verdure of
the trees, and the ubiquity of the fine red dust which penetrates every
crevice and imparts its own tint to every neglected article. Natives
resident in these localities are easily recognisable elsewhere, by the
general hue of their dress. This is occasioned by the prevalence along
the western coast of _laterite_, or, as the Singhalese call it,
_cabook_, a product of disintegrated gneiss, which being subjected to
detrition communicates its hue to the soil.[1]
[Footnote 1: According to the _Mahawanso_ "Tamba-panni," one of those
names by which Ceylon was anciently called, originated in an incident
connected with the invasion of Wijayo, B.C. 543, whose followers,
"exhausted by sea-sickness and faint from weakness, sat down at the spot
where they had landed out of the vessels, supporting themselves on the
palms of their hands pressed to the ground, whence the name of
Tamba-pannyo, '_copper-palmed_,' from the colour of the soil. From this
circumstance that wilderness obtained the name of Tamba-panni; and from
the same cause also this renowned land became celebrated under that
name."--TURNOUR'S _Mahawanso_, ch. vi. p. 50. From Tamba-panni came the
Greek name for Ceylon, _Taprobane_. Mr. de Alwis has corrected an error
in this passage of Mr. Turnour's translation; the word in the original,
which he took for _Tamba-panniyo_, or "copper-palmed," being in reality
_tamba-vanna_, or "copper-coloured." Colonel Forbes questions the
accuracy of this derivation, and attributes the name to the _tamana_
trees; from the abundance of which he says many villages in Ceylon, as
well as a district in southern India, have been similarly called.
(_Eleven Years in Ceylon_, vol. i. p. 10.) I have not succeeded in
discovering what tree is designated by this name, nor does it occur in
MOON'S _List of Ceylon Plants_. On the southern coast of India a river,
which flows from the ghats to the sea, passing Tinnevelly, is called
Tambapanni. Tambapanni, as the designation of Ceylon, occurs in the
inscription on the rock of Girnar in Guzerat, deciphered by Prinsep,
containing an edict by Asoka relative to the medical administration of
India for the relief both of man and beast, (_Asiat. Soc. Journ. Beng._
vol. vii. p. 158.)]
The transformation of gneiss into laterite in these localities has been
attributed to the circumstance, that those sections of the rock which
undergo transition exhibit grains of magnetic iron ore partially
disseminated through them; and the phenomenon of the conversion has been
explained not by recurrence to the ordinary conception of mere
weathering, which is inadequate, but to the theory of catalytic action,
regard being had to the peculiarity of magnetic iron when viewed in its
chemical formula.[1] The oxide of iron thus produced communicates its
colouring to the laterite, and in proportion as felspar and hornblende
abound in the gneiss, the cabook assumes respectively a white or yellow
hue. So ostensible is the series of mutations, that in ordinary
excavations there is no difficulty in tracing a continuous connection
without definite lines of demarcation between the soil and the laterite
on the one hand, and the laterite and gneiss rock on the other.[2]
[Footnote 1: From a paper read to the Royal Physical Society of
Edinburgh by the Rev. J.G. Macvicar, D.D.]
[Footnote 2: From a paper on the Geology of Ceylon, by Dr. Gardner, in
the Appendix to Lee's translation of RIBEYRO'S _History of Ceylon_, p,
206. The earliest and one of the ablest essays on the geological system
and mineralogy of Ceylon will be found in DAVY'S _Account of the
Interior of Ceylon_, London, 1821. It has, however, been corrected and
enlarged by recent investigators.]
The tertiary rocks which form such remarkable features in the geology of
other countries are almost unknown in Ceylon; and the "clay-slate,
Silurian, old red sandstone, carboniferous, new red sandstone, oolitic,
and cretaceous systems" have not as yet been recognised in any part of
the island.[1] Crystalline limestone in some places overlies the gneiss,
and is worked for oeconomical purposes in the mountain districts where
it occurs.[2]
[Footnote 1: Dr. Gardner.]
[Footnote 2: In the maritime provinces lime for building is obtained by
burning the coral and madrepore, which for this purpose is industriously
collected by the fishermen during the intervals when the wind is off
shore.]
Along the western coast, from Point-de-Galle to Chilaw, breccia is found
near the shores, from the agglutination of corallines and shells mixed
with sand, and the disintegrated particles of gneiss. These beds present
an appearance very closely resembling a similar rock, in which human
remains have been found imbedded, at the north-east of Guadaloupe, now
in the British Museum.[1] Incorporated with them there are minute
fragments of sapphires, rubies, and tourmaline, showing that the sand of
which the breccia is composed has been washed down by the rivers from
the mountain zone.
[Footnote 1: Dr. Gardner.]
NORTHERN PROVINCES.--_Coral Formation_.--But the principal scene of the
most recent formations is the extreme north of the island, with the
adjoining peninsula of Jaffna. Here the coral rocks abound far above
high-water mark, and extend across the island where the land has been
gradually upraised, from the eastern to the western shore. The
fortifications of Jaffna were built by the Dutch, from blocks of breccia
quarried far from the sea, and still exhibit, in their worn surface, the
outline of the shells and corallines of which they mainly consist. The
roads, in the absence of more solid substances, are metalled with the
same material; as the only other rock which occurs is a loose
description of conglomerate, similar to that at Adam's Bridge and
Manaar.
The phenomenon of the gradual upheaval of these strata is sufficiently
attested by the position in which they appear, and their altitude above
high-water mark; but, in close contiguity with them, an equally striking
evidence presents itself in the fact that, at various points of the
western coast, between the island of Manaar and Karativoe, the natives,
in addition to fishing for chank shells[1] in the sea, dig them up in
large quantities from beneath the soil on the adjacent shores, in which
they are deeply imbedded[2], the land having since been upraised.
[Footnote 1: _Turbinella rapa_, formerly known as _Voluta gravis_ used
by the people of India to be sawn into bangles and anklets.]
[Footnote 2: In 1845 an antique iron anchor was found under the soil at
the northwestern point of Jaffna, of such size and weight as to show
that it must have belonged to a ship of much greater tonnage than any
which the depth of water would permit to navigate the channel at the
present day.]
The sand, which covers a vast extent of the peninsula of Jaffna, and in
which the coco-nut and Palmyra-palm grow freely, has been carried by the
currents from the coast of India, and either flung upon the northern
beach in the winter months, or driven into the lake during the
south-west monsoon, and thence washed on shore by the ripple, and
distributed by the wind.
The arable soil of Jaffna is generally of a deep red colour, from the
admixture of iron, and, being largely composed of lime from the
comminuted coral, it is susceptible of the highest cultivation, and
produces crops of great luxuriance. This tillage is carried on
exclusively by irrigation from innumerable wells, into which the water
rises fresh through the madrepore and sand; there being no streams in
the district, unless those percolations can be so called which make
their way underground, and rise through the sands on the margin of the
sea at low water.
_Wells in the Coral Rock_.--These phenomena occur at Jaffna, in
consequence of the rocks being magnesian limestone and coral, overlying
a bed of sand, and in some places, where the soil is light, the surface
of the ground is a hollow arch, so that it resounds as if a horse's
weight were sufficient to crush it inwards. This is strikingly
perceptible in the vicinity of the remarkable well at Potoor[1], on the
west side of the road leading from Jaffna to Point Pedro, where the
surface of the surrounding country is only about fifteen feet above the
sea-level. The well, however, is upwards of 140 feet in depth; the water
fresh at the surface, brackish lower down, and intensely salt below.
According to the universal belief of the inhabitants, it is an
underground pool, which communicates with the sea by a subterranean
channel bubbling out on the shore near Kangesentorre, about seven miles
to the north-west.
[Footnote 1: For the particulars of this singular well, see Vol. II. Pt.
IX. ch. vi. p. 536.]
A similar subterranean stream is said to conduct to the sea from another
singular well near Tillipalli, in sinking which the workmen, at the
depth of fourteen feet, came to the ubiquitous coral, the crust of which
gave way, and showed a cavern below containing the water they were in
search of, with a depth of more than thirty-three feet. It is remarkable
that the well at Tillipalli preserves its depth at all seasons alike,
uninfluenced by rains or drought; and a steam-engine erected at Potoor,
with the intention of irrigating the surrounding lands, failed to lower
it in any perceptible degree.
Other wells, especially some near the coast, maintain their level with
such uniformity as to be inexhaustible at any season, even after a
succession of years of drought--a fact from which it may fairly be
inferred that their supply is chiefly derived by percolation from the
sea.[1]
[Footnote 1: DARWIN, in his admirable account of the coral formations of
the Pacific and Indian oceans, has propounded a theory as to the
abundance of fresh water in the atolls and islands on coral reefs,
furnished by wells which ebb and flow with the tides. Assuming it to be
impossible to separate salt from sea water by filtration, he suggests
that the porous coral rock being permeated by salt water, the rain which
falls on the surface must sink to the level of the surrounding sea, "and
must accumulate there, displacing an equal bulk of sea water--and as the
portion of the latter in the lower part of the great sponge-like mass
rises and falls with the tides, so will the fresh water near the
surface."--_Naturalist's Journal_, ch. xx. But subsequent experiments
have demonstrated that the idea of separating the salt by filtration is
not altogether imaginary; as Darwin seems to have then supposed; and Mr.
WITT, in a remarkable paper _On a peculiar power possessed by Porous
Media of removing matters from solution in water_, has since succeeded
in showing that "water containing considerable quantities of saline
matter in solution may, by merely percolating through great masses of
porous strata during long periods, be gradually deprived of its salts
_to such an extent as probably to render even sea-water
fresh_."--_Philos. Mag_., 1856. Divesting the subject therefore of this
difficulty, other doubts would appear to suggest themselves as to the
applicability of Darwin's theory to coral formations in general. For
instance, it might be supposed that rain falling on a substance already
saturated with moisture, would flow off instead of sinking into it; and
that being of less specific gravity than salt water, it would fail to
"displace an equal bulk" of the latter. There are some extraordinary but
well attested statements of a thin layer of fresh water being found on
the surface of the sea, after heavy rains in the Bay of Bengal. (_Journ.
Asiat. Soc. Beng_. vol. v. p. 239.) Besides, I fancy that in the
majority of atolls and coral islands the quantity of rain which so small
an area is calculated to intercept would be insufficient of itself to
account for the extraordinary abundance of fresh water daily drawn from
the wells. For instance, the superficial extent of each of the
Laccadives is but two or three square miles, the surface soil resting on
a crust of coral, beneath which is a stratum of sand; and yet on
reaching the latter, fresh water flows in such profusion, that wells and
large tanks for soaking coco-nut fibre are formed in any place by merely
"breaking through the crust and taking out the sand."--_Madras Journal_,
vol. xiv. It is curious that the abundant supply of water in these wells
should have attracted the attention of the early navigators, and Cosmas
Indicoplenstes, writing in the sixth century, speaks of the numerous
small islands off the coast of Taprobane, with abundance of fresh water
and coco-nut palms, although these islands rest on a bed of sand.
(_Cosmas Ind_. ed. Thevenot, vol. i. p. 3, 20). It is remarkable that in
the little island of Ramisseram, one of the chain which connects Adam's
Bridge with the Indian continent, fresh water is found freely on sinking
for it in the sand. But this is not the case in the adjacent island of
Manaar, which participates in the geologic character of the interior of
Ceylon. The fresh water in the Laccadive wells always fluctuates with
the rise and fall of the tides. In some rare instances, as on the little
island of Bitra, which is the smallest inhabited spot in the group, the
water, though abundant, is brackish, but this is susceptible of an
explanation quite consistent with the experiments of Mr. Witt, which
require that the process of percolation shall be continued "during
_long_ periods and through _great masses of porous strata_;" Darwin
equally concedes that to keep the rain fresh when banked in, as he
assumes, by the sea, the mass of madrepore must be "sufficiently thick
to prevent mechanical admixture; and where the land consists of loose
blocks of coral with open interstices, the water, if a well be dug, is
brackish." Conditions analogous to all these particularised, present
themselves at Jaffna, and seem to indicate that the extent to which
fresh water is found there, is directly connected with percolation from
the sea. The quantity of rain which annually falls is less than in
England, being but thirty inches; whilst the average heat is highest in
Ceylon, and the evaporation great in proportion. Throughout the
peninsula, I am informed by Mr. Byrne, the Government surveyor of the
district, that as a general rule "_all the wells are below the sea
level_." It would be useless to sink them in the higher ground, where
they could only catch surface water. The November rains fill them at
once to the brim, but the water quickly subsides as the season becomes
dry, and "_sinks to the uniform level, at which it remains fixed for the
next nine or ten months_, unless when slightly affected by showers."
"_No well below the sea level becomes dry of itself_," even in seasons
of extreme and continued drought. But the contents do not vary with the
tides, the rise of which is so trifling that the distance from the
ocean, and the slowness of filtration, renders its fluctuations
imperceptible.
On the other hand, the well of Potoor, the phenomena of which indicate
its direct connection with the sea, by means of a fissure or a channel
beneath the arch of magnesian limestone, rises and falls a few inches in
the course of every twelve hours. Another well at Navokeiry, a short
distance from it, does the same, whilst the well at Tillipalli is
entirely unaffected as to its level by any rains, and exhibits no
alteration of its depths on either monsoon. ADMIRAL FITZROY, in his
_Narrative of the Surveying Voyages of the Adventure and Beagle_, the
expedition to which Mr. Darwin was attached, adverts to the phenomenon
in connection with the fresh water found in the Coral Islands, and the
rise and fall of the wells, and the flow and ebb of the tide. He
advances the theory propounded by Darwin of the retention of the
river-water, which he says, "does not mix with the salt water which
surrounds it except at the edges of the land. The flowing tide pushes on
every side, the mixed soil being very porous, and causes the water to
rise: when the tide falls, the fresh water sinks also. _A sponge full of
fresh water placed gently in a basin of salt water, will not part with
its contents for a length of time if left untouched_, and the water in
the middle of the sponge will be found untainted by salt for many days:
perhaps much longer if tried."--Vol. i. p. 365. In a perfectly
motionless medium the experiment of the sponge may no doubt be
successful to the extent mentioned by Admiral Fitzroy; and so the
rain-water imbibed by a coral rock might for a length of time remain
fresh where it came into no contact with the salt. But the disturbance
caused by the tides, and the partial intermixture admitted by Admiral
Fitzroy, must by reiterated occurrence tend in time to taint the fresh
water which is affected by the movement: and this is demonstrable even
by the test of the sponge; for I find that on charging one with coloured
fluid, and immersing it in a vessel containing water perfectly pure, no
intermixture takes place so long as the pure water is undisturbed; but
on causing an artificial tide, by gradually withdrawing and as gradually
replacing a portion of the surrounding contents of the basin, the tinted
water in the sponge becomes displaced and disturbed, and in the course
of a few ebbs and flows its escape is made manifest by the quantity of
colour which it imparts to the surrounding fluid.]
An idea of the general aspect of Ceylon will be formed from what has
here been described. Nearly four parts of the island are undulating
plains, slightly diversified by offsets from the mountain system which
entirely covers the remaining fifth. Every district, from the depths of
the valleys to the summits of the highest hills, is clothed with
perennial foliage; and even the sand-drifts, to the ripple on the sea
line, are carpeted with verdure, and sheltered from the sunbeams by the
cool shadows of the palm groves.
SOIL.--But the soil, notwithstanding this wonderful display of
spontaneous vegetation, is not responsive to systematic cultivation, and
is but imperfectly adapted for maturing a constant succession of seeds
and cereal productions.[1] Hence arose the disappointment which beset
the earliest adventurers who opened plantations of coffee in the hills,
on discovering that after the first rapid development of the plants,
delicacy and languor ensued, which were only to be corrected by
returning to the earth, in the form of manures, those elements with
which it had originally been but sparingly supplied, and which were soon
exhausted by the first experiments in cultivation.
[Footnote 1: See a paper in the Journal of Agriculture, for March, 1857,
Edin.: on _Tropical Cultivation and its Limits_, by Dr. MACVICAR.]
_Patenas_.--The only spots hitherto found suitable for planting coffee,
are those covered by the ancient forests of the mountain zone; and one
of the most remarkable phenomena in the oeconomic history of the island,
is the fact that the grass lands on the same hills, closely adjoining
the forests and separated from them by no visible line save the growth
of the trees, although they seem to be identical in the nature of the
soil, have hitherto proved to be utterly insusceptible of reclamation or
culture by the coffee planter.[1] These verdant openings, to which the
natives have given the name of _patenas_, generally occur about the
middle elevation of the hills, the summits and the hollows being covered
with the customary growth of timber trees, which also fringe the edges
of the mountain streams that trickle down these park-like openings. The
forest approaches boldly to the very edge of a "patena," not
disappearing gradually or sinking into a growth of underwood, but
stopping abruptly and at once, the tallest trees forming a fence around
the avoided spot, as if they enclosed an area of solid stone. These
sunny expanses vary in width from a few yards to many thousands of
acres; in the lower ranges of the hills they are covered with tall
lemon-grass _(Andropogon schoenanthus)_ of which the oppressive perfume
and coarse texture, when full grown, render it distasteful to cattle,
which will only crop the delicate braird that springs after the surface
has been annually burnt by the Kandyans. Two stunted trees, alone, are
seen to thrive in these extraordinary prairies, _Careya arborea_ and
_Emblica officinalis_, and these only below an altitude of 4000 feet;
above this, the lemon-grass is superseded by harder and more wiry
species; but the earth is still the same, a mixture of decomposed quartz
largely impregnated with oxide of iron, but wanting the phosphates and
other salts which are essential to highly organised vegetation.[2] The
extent of the patena land is enormous in Ceylon, amounting to millions
of acres; and it is to be hoped that the complaints which have hitherto
been made by the experimental cultivators of coffee in the Kandyan
provinces may hereafter prove exaggerated, and that much that has been
attributed to the poverty of the soil may eventually be traced to
deficiency of skill on the part of the early planters.
[Footnote 1: Since the above was written, attempts have been made,
chiefly by natives to plant coffee on patena land. The result is a
conviction that the cultivation is practicable, by the use of manures
from the beginning; whereas forest land is capable, for three or four
years at least, of yielding coffee without any artificial enrichment of
the soil.]
[Footnote 2: HUMBOLDT is disposed to ascribe the absence of trees in the
vast grassy plains of South America, to "the destructive custom of
setting fire to the woods, when the natives want to convert the soil
into pasture: when during the lapse of centuries grasses and plants have
covered the surface with a carpet, the seeds of trees can no longer
germinate and fix themselves in the earth, although birds and winds
carry them continually from the distant forests into the
Savannahs."--_Narrative_, vol. i. ch. vi. p. 242.]
The natives in the same lofty localities find no deficient returns in
the crops of rice, which they raise in the ravines and hollows, into
which the earth from above has been washed by the periodical rains; but
the cultivation of rice is so entirely dependent on the presence of
water, that no inference can be fairly drawn as to the quality of the
soil from the abundance of its harvest.
The fields on which rice is grown in these mountains form one of the
most picturesque and beautiful objects in the country of the Kandyans.
Selecting an angular recess where two hills converge, they construct a
series of terraces, raised stage above stage, and retiring as they
ascend along the slope of the acclivity, up which they are carried as
high as the soil extends.[1] Each terrace is furnished with a low ledge
in front, behind which the requisite depth of water is retained during
the germination of the seed, and what is superfluous is permitted to
trickle down to the one below it. In order to carry on this peculiar
cultivation the streams are led along the level of the hills, often from
a distance of many miles, with a skill and perseverance for which the
natives of these mountains have attained a great renown.
[Footnote 1: The conversion of the land into these hanging farms is
known in Ceylon as "assuedamizing," a term borrowed from the Kandyan
vernacular, in which the word "assuedame" implies the process above
described.]
In the lowlands to the south, the soil partakes of the character of the
hills from whose detritus it is to a great extent formed. In it rice is
the chief article produced, and for its cultivation the disintegrated
laterite (_cabook_), when thoroughly irrigated, is sufficiently adapted.
The seed time in the southern section of the island is dependent on the
arrival of the rains in November and May, and hence the mountains and
the maritime districts at their base enjoy two harvests in each
year--the _Maha_, which is sown about July and August, and reaped in
December and January, the _Yalla_ which is sown in spring, and reaped
from the 15th of July to the 20th September. But owing to the different
description of seed sown in particular localites, and the extent to
which they are respectively affected by the rains, the times of sowing
and harvest vary considerably on different sides of the island.[1]
[Footnote 1: The reaping of other descriptions of grain besides rice
occurs at various periods of the year according to the locality.]
In the north, where the influence of the monsoons is felt with less
force and regularity, and where, to counteract their uncertainty, the
rain is collected in reservoirs, a wider discretion is left to the
husbandman in the choice of season for his operations.[1] Two crops of
grain, however, are the utmost that is taken from the land, and in many
instances only one. The soil near the coast is light and sandy, but in
the great central districts of Neuera-kalawa and the Wanny, there is
found in the midst of the forests a dark vegetable mould, in which in
former times rice was abundantly grown by the aid of those prodigious
artificial works for irrigation which still form one of the wonders of
the island. Many of the tanks, though partially in ruins, cover an area
from ten to fifteen miles in circumference. They are now generally
broken and decayed; the waters which would fertilise a province are
allowed to waste themselves in the sands, and hundreds of square miles
capable of furnishing food for all the inhabitants of Ceylon are
abandoned to solitude and malaria, whilst rice for the support of the
non-agricultural population is annually imported from the opposite coast
of India.
[Footnote 1: This peculiarity of the north of Ceylon was noticed by the
Chinese traveller FA HIAN, who visited the island in the fourth century,
and says of the country around Anarajapoora: "L'ensemencement des champs
est suivant la volonte des gens; il n'y a point de temps pour
cela."--_Fo[)e] Kou[)e] Ki_; p. 332.]
_Talawas_.--In these districts of the lowlands, especially on the
eastern coast of the island, and in the country watered by the
Mahawelli-ganga and the other great rivers which flow towards the Bay of
Bengal and the magnificent estuary of Trincomalie, there are open glades
which diversify the forest scenery somewhat resembling the grassy
patenas in the hills, but differing from them in the character of their
soil and vegetation. These park-like meadows, or, as the natives call
them, "talawas," vary in extent from one to a thousand acres. They are
belted by the surrounding woods, and studded with groups of timber and
sometimes with single trees of majestic dimensions. Through these
pastures the deer troop in herds within gunshot, bounding into the
nearest cover when disturbed.
Lower still and immediately adjoining the sea-coast, the broken forest
gives place to brushwood, with here and there an assemblage of dwarf
shrubs; but as far as the eye can reach, there is one vast level of
impenetrable jungle, broken only by the long sweep of salt marshes which
form lakes in the rainy season, but are dry between the monsoons, and
crusted with crystals that glitter like snow in the sunshine.
On the western side of the island the rivers have formed broad alluvial
plains, in which the Dutch attempted to grow sugar. The experiment has
been often resumed since; but even here the soil is so defective, that
the cost of artificially enriching it has hitherto been a serious
obstruction to success commercially, although in one or two instances,
plantations on a small scale have succeeded to a certain extent.
METALS.--The plutonic rocks of Ceylon are but slightly metalliferous,
and hitherto their veins and deposits have been but imperfectly
examined. The first successful survey attempted by the Government was
undertaken during the administration of Viscount Torrington, who, in
1847, commissioned Dr. Gygax to proceed to the hill district south of
Adam's Peak, and furnish a report on its products. His investigations
extended from Ratnapoora, in a south-eastward direction, to the
mountains which overhang Bintenne, but the results obtained did not
greatly enlarge the knowledge previously possessed. He established the
existence of _tin_ in the alluvium along the base of the mountains to
the eastward towards Edelgashena; but so circumstanced, owing to the
flow of the Walleway river, that, without lowering its level, the metal
could not be extracted with advantage. The position in which it occurs
is similar to that in which tin ore presents itself in Saxony; and along
with it, the natives, when searching for gems, discover garnets,
corundum, white topazes, zircon, and tourmaline.
_Gold_ is found in minute particles at Gettyhedra, and in the beds of
the Maha Oya and other rivers flowing towards the west.[1] But the
quantity hitherto discovered has been too trivial to reward the search.
The early inhabitants of the island were not ignorant of its presence;
but its occurrence on a memorable occasion, as well as that of silver
and copper, is recorded in the Mahawanso as a miraculous manifestation,
which signalised the founding of one of the most renowned shrines at the
ancient capital.[2]
[Footnote 1: Ruanwelle, a fort about forty miles distant from Colombo,
derives its name from the sands of the river which flows below
it,--rang-welle, "golden sand." "Rang-galla," in the central province,
is referable to the same root--the rock of gold.]
[Footnote 2: _Mahawanso,_ ch. xxiii. p. 166, 167.]
_Nickel_ and _cobalt_ appear in small quantities in Saffragam, and the
latter, together with _rutile_ (an oxide of titanium) and _wolfram_,
might find a market in China for the colouring of porcelain.[1]
_Tellurium_, another rare and valuable metal, hitherto found only in
Transylvania and the Ural, has likewise been discovered in these
mountains, _Manganese_ is abundant, and _Iron_ occurs in the form of
magnetic iron ore, titanite, chromate, yellow hydrated, per-oxide and
iron pyrites. In most of these, however, the metal is scanty, and the
ores of little comparative value, except for the extraction of manganese
and chrome. "But there is another description of iron ore," says Dr.
Gygax, in his official report to the Ceylon Government, "which is found
in vast abundance, brown and compact, generally in the state of
carbonate, though still blended with a little chrome, and often
molybdena. It occurs in large masses and veins, one of which extends for
a distance of fifteen miles; from it millions of tons might be smelted,
and when found adjacent to fuel and water-carriage, it might be worked
to a profit. The quality of the iron ore found in Ceylon is singularly
fine; it is easily smelted, and so pure when reduced as to resemble
silver. The rough ore produces from _thirty_ to _seventy-five_ per
cent., and on an average fully _fifty_. The iron wrought from it
requires no puddling, and, converted into steel, it cuts like a diamond.
The metal could be laid down in Colombo at L6 per ton, even supposing
the ore to be brought thither for smelting, and prepared with English
coal; but _anthracite_ being found upon the spot, it could be used in
the proportion of three to one of the British coal; and the cost
correspondingly reduced."
[Footnote 1: The _Asiatic Annual Register_ for 1799 contains the
following:--
"_Extract from a letter from Colombo, dated 26th Oct. 1798_.
"A discovery has been lately made here of a very rich mine of
_quicksilver,_ about six miles from this place. The appearances are very
promising, for a handful of the earth on the surface will, by being
washed, produce the value of a rupee. A guard is set over it, and
accounts sent express to the Madras Government."--P. 53. See also
PERCIVAL'S _Ceylon_, p. 539.
JOINVILLE, in a MS, essay on _The Geology of Ceylon_, now in the library
of the East India Company, says that near Trincomalie there is "un sable
noir, compose de detriments de trappe et de cristaux de fer, _dans
lequel on trouve par le lavage beaucoup de mercure_."]
Remains of ancient furnaces are met with in all directions precisely
similar to those still in use amongst the natives. The Singhalese obtain
the ore they require without the trouble of mining; seeking a spot where
the soil has been loosened by the latest rains, they break off a
sufficient quantity, which, in less than three hours, they convert into
iron by the simplest possible means. None of their furnaces are capable
of smelting more than twenty pounds of ore, and yet this quantity yields
from seven to ten pounds of good metal.
The _anthracite_ alluded to by Dr. Gygax is found in the southern range
of hills near Nambepane, in close proximity to rich veins of _plumbago_,
which are largely worked in the same district, and the quantity of the
latter annually exported from Ceylon exceeds a thousand tons.
_Molybdena_ is found in profusion dispersed through many rocks in
Saffragam, and it occurs in the alluvium in grey scales, so nearly
resembling plumbago as to be commonly mistaken for it. _Kaolin_, called
by the natives _Kirimattie_, appears at Neuera-ellia at Hewahette,
Kaduganawa, and in many of the higher ranges as well as in the low
country near Colombo; its colour is so clear as to suit for the
manufacture of porcelain[1]; but the difficulty and cost of carriage
render it as yet unavailing for commerce, and the only use to which it
has hitherto been applied is to serve for whitewash instead of lime.
[Footnote 1: The kaolin of Ceylon, according to an analysis in 1847,
consists of--
Pure kaolin 70.0
Silica 26.0
Molybdena and iron oxide 4.0
____
100.0
In the _Ming-she_, or history of the Ming dynasty, A.D. 1368-1643, by
Chan-ting-yuh, "pottery-stone" is; enumerated among the imports into
China from Ceylon.--B. cccxxvi. p. 5.]
_Nitre_ has long been known to exist in Ceylon, where the localities in
which it occurs are similar to those in Brazil. In Saffragam alone there
are upwards of sixty caverns known to the natives, from which it may be
extracted, and others exist in various parts of the island, where the
abundance of wood to assist in its lixiviation would render that process
easy and profitable. Yet so sparingly has this been hitherto attempted,
that even for purposes of refrigeration, crude saltpetre is still
imported from India.[1]
[Footnote 1: The mineralogy of Ceylon has hitherto undergone no
scientific scrutiny, nor have its mineral productions been arranged in
any systematic and comprehensive catalogue. Specimens are to be found in
abundance in the hands of native dealers; but from indifference or
caution they express their inability to afford adequate information as
to their locality, their geological position, or even to show with
sufficient certainty that they belong to the island. Dr. Gygax, as the
results of some years spent in exploring different districts previous to
1847, was enabled to furnish a list of but thirty-seven species, the
site of which he had determined by personal inspection. These were:--
1. Rock crystal Abundant.
2. Iron quartz Saffragam.
3. Common quartz Abundant.
4. Amethyst Galle Back, Caltura.
5. Garnet Abundant.
6. Cinnamon stone Belligam.
7. Harmotome St. Lucia, Colombo.
8. Hornblende Abundant.
9. Hypersthene Ditto.
10. Common corundum Badulla.
11. Ruby Ditto and Saffragam.
12. Chrysoberyl Ratganga, North Saffragam.
13. Pleonaste Badulla.
14. Zircon Wallawey-ganga, Saffragam.
15. Mica Abundant.
16. Adular Patna Hills, North-east.
17. Common felspar Abundant.
18. Green felspar Kandy.
19. Albite Melly Matte.
20. Chlorite Kandy.
21. Pinite Patna Hills.
22. Black tourmaline Neuera-ellia.
23. Calespar Abundant.
24. Bitterspar Ditto.
25. Apatite Galle Back.
26. Fluorspar Ditto.
27. Chiastolite Mount Lavinia.
28. Iron pyrites Peradenia.
29. Magnetic iron pyrites Ditto, Rajawelle.
30. Brown iron ore Abundant.
31. Spathose iron ore Galle Back.
32. Manganese Saffragam.
33. Molybden glance Abundant.
34. Tin ore Saffragam.
35. Arseniate of nickel Ditto.
36. Plumbago Morowa Corle.
37. Epistilbite St. Lucia.]
GEMS.--But the chief interest which attaches to the mountains and rocks
of this region, arises from the fact that they contain those mines of
_precious stones_ which from time immemorial have conferred renown on
Ceylon. The ancients celebrated the gems as well as the pearls of
"Taprobane;" the tales of mariners returning from their eastern
expeditions supplied to the story-tellers of the Arabian Nights their
fables of the jewels of "Serendib;" and the travellers of the Middle
Ages, on returning to Europe, told of the "sapphires, topazes,
amethysts, garnets, and other costly stones" of Ceylon, and of the ruby
which belonged to the king of the island, "a span in length, without a
flaw, and brilliant beyond description."[1]
[Footnote 1: _Travels of_ MARCO POLO, _a Venetian, in the Thirteenth
Century_, Lond. 1818.]
The extent to which gems are still found is sufficient to account for
the early traditions of their splendour and profusion; and fabulous as
this story of the ruby of the Kandyan kings may be, the abundance of
gems in Saffragam has given to the capital of the district the name of
_Ratnapoora_, which means literally "the city of rubies."[1] They are
not, however, confined to this quarter alone, but quantities are still
found on the western plains between Adam's Peak and the sea, at
Neuera-ellia, in Oovah, at Kandy, at Mattelle in the central province,
and at Ruanwelli near Colombo, at Matura, and in the beds of the rivers
eastwards towards the ancient Mahagam.
[Footnote 1: In the vicinity of Ratnapoora there are to be obtained
masses of quartz of the most delicate rose colour. Some pieces, which
were brought to me in Colombo, were of extraordinary beauty; and I have
reason to believe that it can be obtained in pieces large enough to be
used as slabs for tables, or formed into vases and columns, I may
observe that similar pieces are to be found in the south of Ireland,
near Cork.]
But the localities which chiefly supply the Ceylon gems are the alluvial
plains at the foot of the stupendous hills of Saffragam, in which the
detritus of the rocks has been carried down and intercepted by the
slight elevations that rise at some distance from the base of the
mountains. The most remarkable of these gem-bearing deposits is in the
flat country around Ballangodde, south-east of Ratnapoora; but almost
every valley in communication with the rocks of the higher ranges
contains stones of more or less value, and the beds of the rivers
flowing southward from the mountain chain are so rich in comminuted
fragments of rubies, sapphires, and garnets[1], that their sands in some
places are used by lapidaries in polishing the softer stones, and in
sawing the elephants' grinders into plates. The cook of a government
officer at Galle recently brought to him a ruby about the size of a
small pea, which he had taken from the crop of a fowl.
[Footnote 1: Mr. BAKER, in a work entitled _The Rifle and the Hound in
Ceylon_, thus describes the sands of the Manic Ganga, near the ruins of
Mahagam, in the south-eastern extremity of the island:--"The sand was
composed of mica, quartz, sapphire, ruby, and jacinth; but the large
proportion of ruby sand was so extraordinary that it seemed to rival
Sinbad's story of the vale of gems. The whole of this was valueless, but
the appearance of the sand was very inviting, as the shallow stream in
rippling over it magnified the tiny gems into stones of some magnitude.
I passed an hour in vainly searching for a ruby worth collecting, but
the largest did not exceed the size of a mustard seed."--BAKER'S _Rifle
and Hound in Ceylon_, p. 181.]
Of late years considerable energy has been shown by those engaged in the
search for gems; neglected districts have been explored, and new fields
have been opened up at such places as Karangodde and Weraloopa, whence
stones have been taken of unusual size and value.
It is not, however, in the recent strata of gravel, nor in those now in
process of formation, that the natives search for gems. They penetrate
these to the depth of from ten to twenty feet, in order to reach a lower
deposit distinguished by the name of _Nellan_, in which the objects of
their search are found. This is of so early a formation that it
underlies the present beds of rivers, and is generally separated from
them or from the superincumbent gravel by a hard crust (called _Kadua_),
a few inches in thickness, and so consolidated as to have somewhat the
appearance of laterite, or of sun-burnt brick. The nellan is for the
most part horizontal, but occasionally it is raised into an incline as
it approaches the base of the hills. It appears to have been deposited
previous to the eruption of the basalt, on which in some places it
reclines, and to have undergone some alteration from the contact. It
consists of water-worn pebbles firmly imbedded in clay, and occasionally
there occur large lumps of granite and gneiss, in the hollows under
which, as well as in "pockets" in the clay (which from their shape the
natives denominate "elephants' footsteps") gems are frequently found in
groups as if washed in by the current.
The persons who devote themselves to this uncertain pursuit are chiefly
Singhalese, and the season selected by them for "gemming" is between
December and March, when the waters are low.[1] The poorer and least
enterprising adventurers betake themselves to the beds of streams, but
the most certain though the most costly course is to sink pits in the
adjacent plains, which are consequently indented with such traces of
recent explorers. The upper gravel is pierced, the covering crust is
reached and broken through, and the nellan being shovelled into conical
baskets and washed to free it from the sand, the residue is carefully
searched for whatever rounded crystals and minute gems it may contain.
[Footnote 1: A very interesting account of _Gems and Gem Searching_, by
Mr. WM. STEWART, appeared in the _Colombo Observer_ for June, 1855.]
It is strongly characteristic of the want of energy in the Singhalese,
that although for centuries those alluvial plains and watercourses have
been searched without ceasing, no attempt appears to have been made to
explore the rocks themselves, in the debris of which the gems have been
brought down by the rivers. Dr. Gygax says: "I found at Hima Pohura, on
the south-eastern decline of the Pettigalle-Kanda, about the middle of
the descent, a stratum of grey granite containing, with iron pyrites and
molybdena, innumerable rubies from one-tenth to a fourth of an inch in
diameter, and of a fine rose colour, but split and falling to powder. It
is not an isolated bed of minerals, but a regular stratum extending
probably to the same depth and distance as the other granite formations.
I followed it as far as was practicable for close examination, but
everywhere in the lower part of the valley I found it so decomposed that
the hammer sunk in the rock, and even bamboos were growing on it. On the
higher ground near some small round hills which intercept it, I found
the rubies changed into brown corundum. Upon the hills themselves the
trace was lost, and instead of a stratum there was merely a wild chaos
of blocks of yellow granite. I carefully examined all the minerals which
this stratum contains,--felspar, mica, and quartz molybdena, and iron
pyrites,--and I found all similar to those I had previously got adhering
to rough rubies offered for sale at Colombo. _I firmly believe that in
such strata the rubies of Ceylon are originally found_, and that those
in the white and blue clay at Ballangodde and Ratnapoora are but
secondary deposits. I am further inclined to believe that these extend
over the whole island, although often intercepted and changed in their
direction by the rising of the yellow granite." It is highly probable
that the finest rubies are to be found in them, perfect and unchanged by
decomposition; and that they are to be obtained by opening a regular
mine in the rock like the ruby mine of Badakshan in Bactria described by
Sir Alexander Burnes. Dr. Gygax adds that having often received the
minerals of this stratum with the crystals perfect, he has reason to
believe that places are known to the natives where such mines might be
opened with confidence of success.
Rubies both crystalline and amorphous are also found in a particular
stratum of dolomite at Bullatotte and Badulla, in which there is a
peculiar copper-coloured mica with metallic lustre. _Star rubies_, the
"asteria" of Pliny (so called from their containing a movable six-rayed
star), are to be had at Ratnapoora and for very trifling sums. The blue
tinge which detracts from the value of the pure ruby, whose colour
should resemble "pigeon's blood," is removed by the Singhalese, by
enveloping the stone in the lime of a calcined shell and exposing it to
a high heat. _Spinel_ of extremely beautiful colours is found in the bed
of the Mahawelli-ganga at Kandy, and from the locality it has obtained
the name of _Candite_.
It is strange that although the _sapphire_ is found in all this region
in greater quantity than the ruby, it has never yet been discovered in
the original matrix, and the small fragments which sometimes occur in
dolomite show that there it is but a deposit. From its exquisite colour
and the size in which it is commonly found, it forms by far the most
valuable gem of the island. A piece which was dug out of the alluvium
within a few miles of Ratnapoora in 1853, was purchased by a Moor at
Colombo, in whose hands it was valued at upwards of four thousand
pounds.
The original site of the _oriental topaz_ is equally unknown with that
of the sapphire. The Singhalese rightly believe them to be the same
stone only differing in colour, and crystals are said to be obtained
with one portion yellow and the other blue.
_Garnets_ of inferior quality are common in the gneiss, but finer ones
are found in the hornblende rocks.
_Cinnamon-stone_ (which is properly a variety of garnet) is so extremely
abundant, that vast rocks containing it in profusion exist in many
places, especially in the alluvium around Matura; and at Belligam, a few
miles east from Point-de-Galle, a vast detached rock is so largely
composed of cinnamon-stones that it is carried off in lumps for the
purpose of extracting and polishing them.
The _Cat's-eye_ is one of the jewels of which the Singhalese are
especially proud, from a belief that it is only found in their island;
but in this I apprehend they are misinformed, as specimens of equal
merit have been brought from Quilon and Cochin on the southern coast of
Hindostan. The cat's-eye is a greenish translucent quartz, and when cut
_en cabochon_ it presents a moving internal reflection which is ascribed
to the presence of filaments of asbestos. Its perfection is estimated by
the natives in proportion to the narrowness and sharpness of the ray and
the pure olive-tint of the ground over which it plays.
_Amethysts_ are found in the gneiss, and some discoloured though
beautiful specimens in syenite; they are too common to be highly
esteemed. The "Matura Diamonds," which are largely used by the native
jewellers, consist of zircon, found in the syenite not only uncoloured,
but also of pink and yellow tints, the former passing for rubies.
But one of the prettiest though commonest gems in the island is the
"Moon-stone," a variety of pearly adularia presenting chatoyant rays
when simply polished. They are so abundant that the finest specimens may
be bought for a few shillings. These, with _aqua marina_, a bad
description of _opal rock crystal_ in extremely large pieces,
_tourmaline_, and a number of others of no great value, compose the list
of native gems procurable in Ceylon.[1] Diamonds, emeralds, agates,
carnelians, opal and turquoise, when they are exhibited by the natives,
have all been imported from India.
[Footnote 1: Caswini and some of the Arabian geographers assert that the
diamond is found at Adam's Peak; but this is improbable, as there is no
formation resembling the _cascalhao_ of Brazil or the diamond
conglomerate of Golconda. If diamonds were offered for sale in Ceylon,
in the time of the Arab navigators, they must have been brought thither
from India, (_Journ. As. Soc. Beng._ xiii. 633.)]
During the dynasty of the Kandyan sovereigns, the right of digging for
gems was a royalty reserved jealously for the King; and the inhabitants
of particular villages were employed in their search under the
superintendence of hereditary officers, with the rank of "Mudianse." By
the British Government the monopoly was early abolished as a source of
revenue, and no license is now required by the jewel-hunters.
Great numbers of persons of the worst-regulated habits are constantly
engaged in this exciting and precarious trade; and serious
demoralisation is engendered amongst the villagers by the idle and
dissolute adventurers who resort to Saffragam. Systematic industry
suffers, and the cultivation of the land is frequently neglected whilst
its owners are absorbed in these speculative and tantalising
occupations.
The products of their searches are disposed of to the Moors, who resort
to Saffragam from the low country, carrying up cloth and salt, to be
exchanged for gems and coffee. At the annual Buddhist festival of the
Pera-hara, a jewel-fair is held at Ratnapoora, to which the purchasers
resort from all parts of Ceylon. Of late years, however, the condition
of the people in Saffragam has so much improved that it has become
difficult to obtain the finest jewels, the wealthier natives preferring
to retain them as investments: they part with them reluctantly, and only
for gold, which they find equally convenient for concealment.[1]
[Footnote 1: So eager is the appetite for hoarding in these hills, that
eleven rupees (equal to twenty-two shillings) have frequently been given
for a sovereign.]
The lapidaries who cut and polish the stones are chiefly Moors, but
their tools are so primitive, and their skill so deficient, that a gem
generally loses in value by having passed through their hands. The
inferior kinds, such as cinnamon-stones, garnets, and tourmaline, are
polished by ordinary artists at Kandy, Matura, and Galle; but the more
expert lapidaries, who cut rubies and sapphires, reside chiefly at
Caltura and Colombo.
As a general rule, the rarer gems are less costly in Europe than in
Colombo. In London and Paris the quantities brought from all parts of
the world are sufficient to establish something like a market value;
but, in Ceylon, the supply is so uncertain that the price is always
regulated at the moment by the rank and wealth of the purchaser. Strange
to say, too, there is often an unwillingness even amongst the Moorish
dealers to sell the rarest and finest specimens; those who are wealthy
being anxious to retain them, and few but stones of secondary value are
offered for sale. Besides, the Rajahs and native Princes of India,
amongst whom the passion for jewels is universal, are known to give such
extravagant prices that the best are always sent to them from Ceylon.
From the Custom House returns it is impossible to form any calculation
as to the value of the precious stones exported from the island. A
portion only appears, even of those sent to England, the remainder being
carried away by private parties. Of the total number found, one-fourth
is probably purchased by the natives themselves, more than one-half is
sent to the Continent of India, and the remainder represents the export
to Europe. Computed in this way, the quantity of precious stones found
in the island may be estimated at 10,000_l_. per annum.
RIVERS.--From the mountainous configuration of the country and the
abundance of the rains, the rivers are large and numerous in the south
of the island--ten of considerable magnitude flowing into the sea on the
west coast, between Point-de-Galle and Manaar, and a still greater
number, though inferior in volume, on the east. In the low country,
where the heat is intense and evaporation proportionate, they derive
little of their supply from springs; and the passing showers which fall
scarcely more than replace the moisture drawn by the sun from the
parched and thirsty soil.
Hence in the plains there are comparatively few rivulets or running
streams; the rivers there flow in almost solitary lines to the sea; and
the beds of their minor affluents serve only to conduct to them the
torrents which descend at the change of each monsoon, their channels at
other times being exhausted and dry. But in their course through the
hills, and the broken ground at their base, they are supplied by
numerous feeders, which convey to them the frequent showers that fall in
high altitudes. Hence their tracks are through some of the noblest
scenery in the world; rushing through ravines and glens, and falling
over precipitous rocks in the depths of wooded valleys, they exhibit a
succession of rapids, cataracts, and torrents, unsurpassed in
magnificence and beauty. On reaching the plains, the boldness of their
march and the graceful outline of their sweep are indicative of the
little obstruction opposed by the sandy and porous soil through which
they flow. Throughout their entire course dense forests shade their
banks, and, as they approach the sea, tamarisks and over-arching
mangroves mark where their waters mingle with the tide.
Of all the Ceylon rivers, the most important by far is the
Mahawelli-ganga--the Ganges of Ptolemy--which, rising in the south near
Adam's Peak, traverses more than one-third of the mountain zone[1],
drains upwards of four thousand square miles, and flows into the sea by
a number of branches, near the noble harbour of Trincomalie. The
following table gives a comparative view of the magnitude of the rivers
that rise in the hills, and of the extent of the low country traversed
by each of them:--
Square Miles Square Miles Length of
Embouchure. drained in drained in the Course of
Mountain low Country, the main
Zone. about Stream.
Mahawelii-ganga near Trincomalie 1782 2300 134
Kirinde at Mahagan 34 300 62
Wellawey near Hambangtotte 263 500 69
Neivalle at Matura 64 200 42
(Three Rivers) near Tangalle 56 200
Gindura near Galle 180 200 59
Kalu-oya at Caltura 841 300 72
Kalany Colombo 692 200 84
The Kaymel or
Mahaoya near Negombo 253 200 68
Dederoo-oya near Chilaw 38 700 70
----------------------------
4212 5100
[Footnote 1: See _ante_, p. 12, for a definition of what constitutes the
"mountain zone" of Ceylon.]
In addition to these, there are a number of large rivers which belong
entirely to the plains in the northern and south-eastern portions of the
island, the principal of which are the Arive and the Moderegam, which
flow into the Gulf of Manaar; the Kala-oya and the Kanda-lady, which
empty themselves into the Bay of Calpentyn; the Maniek or Kattragam, and
the Koombookgam, opposite to the Little Bass rocks and the Naveloor, the
Chadawak, and Arookgam, south of Batticaloa. The extent of country
drained by these latter streams is little short of thirteen thousand
square miles.
Very few of the rivers of Ceylon are navigable, and these only by canoes
and flat-bottomed paddy boats, which ascend some of the largest for
short distances, till impeded by the rapids, occasioned by rocks in the
lowest range of the hills. In this way the Niwalle at Matura can be
ascended for about fifteen miles, as far as Wellehara; the Kalu-ganga
can be traversed from Caltura to Ratnapoora; the Bentotte river for
sixteen miles to Pittagalla; and the Kalany from Colombo to the foot of
the mountains near Ambogammoa. The Mahawelli-ganga is navigable from
Trincomalie to within a short distance of Kanda[1]; and many of the
lesser streams, the Kirinde and Wellawey in the south, and the Kaymel,
the Dedroo-oya, and the Aripo river on the west of the island, are used
for short distances by boats.
[Footnote 1: For an account of the capabilities of the Mahawelli-ganga,
as regards navigation, see BROOKE'S _Report, Roy. Geog. Journ._ vol.
iii. p. 223. and _post_, Vol. II. p. 423.]
All these streams are liable, during the fury of the monsoons, to be
surcharged with rain till they overflow their banks, and spread in wide
inundations over the level country. On the subsidence of these waters,
the intense heat of the sun acting on the surface they leave deserted,
produces a noxious and fatal malaria. Hence the rivers of Ceylon present
the curious anomaly, that whilst the tanks and reservoirs of the
interior diffuse a healthful coolness around, the running water of the
rivers is prolific of fevers; and in some seasons so deadly is the
pestilence that the Malabar coolies, as well as the native peasantry,
betake themselves to precipitate flight.[1]
[Footnote 1: It has been remarked along the Mahawelli-ganga, a few miles
from Kandy, that during the deadly season, after the subsidence of the
rains, the jungle fever generally attacks one face of the hills through
which it winds, leading the opposite side entirely exempted, as if the
poisonous vapour, being carried by the current of air, affected only
those aspects against which it directly impinged.]
Few of the larger rivers have been bridged, except those which intersect
the great high roads from Point-de-Galle to Colombo, and thence to
Kandy. Near the sea this has been effected by timber platforms,
sustained by piles sufficiently strong to withstand the force of the
floods at the change of each monsoon. A bridge of boats connects each
side of the Kalany, and on reaching the Mahawelli-ganga at Peradenia,
one of the most picturesque structures on the island is a noble bridge
of a single arch, 205 feet in span, chiefly constructed of satin-wood,
and thrown across the river by General Fraser in 1832.
On reaching the margin of the sea, an appearance is presented by the
outline of the coast, near the embouchures of the principal rivers,
which is very remarkable. It is common to both sides of the island,
though it has attained its greatest development on the east. In order to
comprehend its formation, it is necessary to observe that Ceylon lies in
the course of the ocean currents in the Bay of Bengal, which run north
or south according to the prevalence of the monsoon, and with greater or
less velocity in proportion to its force at particular periods.
[Illustration: CURRENT IN THE NE MONSOON.]
In the beginning and during the strength of the northeast monsoon the
current sets strongly along the coast of Coromandel to the southward, a
portion of it frequently entering Palks Bay to the north of Ceylon; but
the main stream keeping invariably to the east of the island, runs with
a velocity of from one and a half to two miles an hour, and after
passing the Great Bass, it keeps its course seaward. At other times,
after the monsoon has spent its violence, the current is weak, and
follows the line of the land to the westward as far as Point-de-Galle,
or even to Colombo.
[Illustration: CURRENT IN THE S.W. MONSOON]
In the south-west monsoon the current changes its direction; and,
although it flows steadily to the northward, its action is very
irregular and unequal till it readies the Coromandel coast, after
passing Ceylon. This is accounted for by the obstruction opposed by the
headlands of Ceylon, which so intercept the stream that the current,
which might otherwise set into the Gulf of Manaar, takes a
south-easterly direction by Galle and Donedra Head.[1]
[Footnote 1: For an account of the currents of Ceylon, see HORSBURGH's
_Directions for Sailing to and from the East Indies, &c._; vol i. p.
516, 536, 580; KEITH JOHNSTON's _Physical Atlas_, plate xiii. p. 50.]
There being no lakes in Ceylon[1], in the still waters of which the
rivers might clear themselves of the earthy matter swept along in their
rapid course from the hills, they arrive at the beach laden with sand
and alluvium, and at their junction with the ocean being met
transversely by the gulf-streams, the sand and soil with which they are
laden, instead of being carried out to sea, are heaped up in bars along
the shores, and these, being augmented by similar deposits held in
suspension by the currents, soon extend to north, and south, and force
the rivers to flow behind them in search of a new outlet.
[Footnote 1: Pliny alludes to a lake in Ceylon of vast dimensions, but
it is clear that his informants must have spoken of one of the huge
tanks for the purpose of irrigation. Some of the _Mappe-mondes_ of the
Middle Ages place a lake in the middle of the island, with a city
inhabited by astrologers; but they have merely reproduced the error of
earlier geographers. (SANTAREM, _Cosmog_. tom. iii. p. 336.)]
These formations once commenced, their growth proceeds with rapidity,
more especially on the east side of the island; as the southern current
in skirting the Coromandel coast brings with it quantities of sand,
which it deposits, in tranquil weather, and this being carried by the
wind is piled in heaps from Point Pedro to Hambangtotte. Hence at the
latter point hills are formed of such height and dimensions, that it is
often necessary to remove buildings out of their line of
encroachment.[1]
[Footnote 1: This is occasioned by the waste of the banks further north
during the violence of the N. E. monsoon; and the sand, being carried
south by the current, is intercepted by the headland at Hambangtotte and
thrown up these hills as described.]
[Illustration: "GOBBS" ON THE EAST COAST]
At the mouths of the rivers the bars thus created generally follow the
direction of the current, and the material deposited being dried and
partially consolidated in the intervals between the tides, long
embankments are gradually raised, behind which the rivers flow for
considerable distances before entering the sea. Occasionally these
embouchures become closed by the accumulations without, and the pent-up
water assumes the appearance of a still canal, more or less broad
according to the level of the beach, and extending for miles along the
coast, between the mainland and the new formations. But when swollen by
the rains, if not assisted by artificial outlets to escape, they burst
new openings for themselves, and not unfrequently they leave their
ancient channels converted into shallow lagoons without any visible
exit. Examples of these formations present themselves on the east side
of Ceylon at Nilla-velle, Batticaloa, and a number of other places north
and south of Trincomalie.
On the west coast embankments of this kind, although frequent are less
conspicuous than on the east, owing chiefly to the comparative weakness
of the current. For six months in the year during the north-east monsoon
that side of the island is exempt from a current in any direction, and
for the remaining six, the current from the south not only rarely
affects the Gulf of Manaar, but as it flows out of the Indian Ocean it
brings no earthy deposits. In addition to this, the surf during the
south-west monsoon rolls with such turbulence on the level beach between
Colombo and Point-de-Galle, as in a great degree to disperse the
accumulations of sand brought down by the rivers, or heaped up by the
tide, when the wind is off the land. Still, many of the rivers are
thrown back by embankments, and after forming tortuous lakes flow for a
long distance parallel to the shore, before finding an escape for their
waters. Examples of this occur at Pantura, to the south of Colombo, and
at Negombo, Chilaw, and elsewhere to the north of it.
[Illustration: GOBBS ON THE WEST COAST]
In process of time these banks of sand[1] become covered with
vegetation; herbaceous plants, shrubs, and finally trees peculiar to
saline soils make their appearance in succession, and as these decay,
their decomposition generates a sufficiency of soil to sustain continued
vegetation.
[Footnote 1: In the voyages of _The Two Mahometans_, the unique MS. of
which dates about A.D. 851, and is now in the Bibliotheque Royale at
Paris, Abon-zeyd, one of its authors, describes the "Gobbs" of Ceylon--a
word, he says, by which the natives designate the valleys deep and broad
which open to the sea. "En face de cette ile y a de vastes _Gobb_, mot
par lequel on designe une vallee, quand elle est a la fois longue et
large, et qu'elle debouche dans la mer. Les navigateurs emploient, pour
traverser le _gobb_ appele 'Gobb de Serendib,' deux mois et meme
davantage, passant a travers des bois et des jardins, au milieu d'une
temperature moyenne."--REINAUD, _Voyages faits par les Arabes_, vol. i.
p. 129.
A misapprehension of this passage has been admitted into the English
version of the _Voyages of the two Mahometans_ which is published in
PINKERTON'S _Collections of Voyages and Travels_, vol. iii.; the
translator having treated gobb as a term applicable to valleys in
general. "Ceylon," he says, "contains valleys of great length, which
extend to the sea, and here travellers repair for two months or more, in
which one is called Gobb Serendib, allured by the beauty of the scenery,
chequered with groves and plains, water and meadows, and blessed by a
balmy air. The valley opens to the sea, and is transcendently
pleasant."--PINKERTON'S _Voyages_, vol. vii. p. 218.
But a passage in Edrisi, while it agrees with the terms of Abou-zeyd,
explains at the same time that these gobbs were not valleys converted
into gardens, to which the seamen resorted for pleasure to spend two or
three months, but the embouchures of rivers flowing between banks,
covered with gardens and forests, into which mariners were accustomed to
conduct their vessels for more secure navigation, and in which they were
subjected to detention for the period stated. The passage is as follows
in Jaubert's translation of Edrisi, tom. i. p. 73:--"Cette ile
(Serendib) depend des terres de l'Inde; ainsi que les vallees (in orig.
aghbab) par lesquelles se dechargent les rivieres, et qu'on nomme
'Vallees de Serendib.' Les navires y mouillent, et les navigateurs y
passent un mois ou deux dans l'abondance et dans les plaisirs."
It is observable that Ptolemy, in enumerating the ports and harbours of
Ceylon, maintains a distinction between the ordinary bays, [Greek:
kolpos], of which he specifies two corresponding to those of Colombo and
Trincomalie, and the shallower indentations, [Greek: limen], of which he
enumerates five, the positions of which go far to identify them with the
remarkable estuaries or _gobbs_, on the eastern and western coast
between Batticaloa and Calpentyn.
To the present day these latter gulfs are navigable for small craft. On
the eastern side of the island one of them forms the harbour of
Batticaloa, and on the western those of Chilaw and Negombo are bays of
this class. Through the latter a continuous navigation has been
completed by means of short connecting canals, and a traffic is
maintained during the south-west monsoon, from Caltura to the north of
Chilaw, a distance of upwards of eighty miles, by means of craft which
navigate these shallow channels.
These narrow passages conform in every particular to the description
given by Abou-zeyd and Edrisi: they run through a succession of woods
and gardens; and as a leading wind is indispensable for their
navigation, the period named by the Arabian geographers for their
passage is perhaps not excessive during calms or adverse winds.
An article on the meaning of the word gobb will be found in the _Journal
Asiatique_ for September, 1844; but it does not exhibit clearly the very
peculiar features of these openings. It is contained in an extract from
the work on India of ALBYROUNI, a contemporary of Avicenna, who was born
in the valley of the Indus.--"Un golfe (gobb) est comme une encoignure
et un detour que fait la mer en penetrant dans le continens: les navires
n'y sont pas sans peril particulierement a l'egard du flux et
reflux."--_Extrait de l'ouvrage d'_ ALBYROUNI _sur l'Inde; Fragmens
Arabes et Persans, relatifs a l'Inde, recueilles par_ M. REINAUD;
_Journ. Asiat., Septembre et Octobre_, 1844, p. 261. In the Turkish
nautical work of SIDI ALI CHELEBI, the _Mohit_, written about A.D. 1550,
which contains directions for sailors navigating the eastern seas, the
author alludes to the _gobbha's_ on the coast of Arracan; and conscious
that the term was local not likely to be understood beyond those
countries, he adds that "gobbha" means "_a gulf full of shallows,
shoals, and breakers_." See translation by VON HAMMER, _Journ. Asiat.
Soc. Beng._ v. 466.]
The process of this conversion may be seen in all its stages at various
points along the coast of Ceylon.
The margin of land nearest to the water is first taken possession of by
a series of littoral plants, which apparently require a large quantity
of salt to sustain their vegetation. These at times are intermixed with
others, which, though found further inland, yet flourish in perfection
on the shore. On the northern and north-western coasts the glass
worts[1] and salt worts[2] are the first to appear on the newly raised
banks, and being provided with penetrating roots, a breakwater is thus
early secured, and the drier sand above becomes occupied with creeping
plants which in their turn afford shelter to a third and erect class.
[Footnote 1: Salicornia Indica.]
[Footnote 2: Salsola Indica.]
The Goat's-foot Ipomoea[1], which appears to encircle the world, abounds
on these shores, covering the surface to the water's edge with its
procumbent branches, which sending down roots from every joint serve to
give the bank its first firmness, whilst the profusion of its
purple-coloured flowers contrasts strikingly with its dark green
foliage.
[Footnote 1: Ipomoea pes-caprae]
Along with the Ipomoea grow two species of beans[1] each endowed with a
peculiar facility for reproduction, thus consolidating the sands into
which they strike; and the moodu-gaeta-kola[2] (literally the "jointed
seashore plant,") with pink flowers and thick succulent leaves.
[Footnote 1: The Mooduawara (_Canavalia obtusifolia_), whose flowers
have the fragrance of the sweet pea, and _Dolichos luteus_.]
[Footnote 2: Hydrophylax maritima.]
Another plant which performs an important function in the fertilisation
of these arid formations, is the _Spinifex squarrosus_, the "water
pink," as it is sometimes called by Europeans. The seeds of this plant
are contained in a circular head, composed of a series of spine-like
divisions, which radiate from the stalk in all directions, making the
diameter of the whole about eight to nine inches. When the seeds are
mature, and ready for dispersion, these heads become detached from the
plant, and are carried by the wind with great velocity along the sands,
over the surface of which they are impelled on their elastic spines. One
of these balls may be followed by the eye for miles as it hurries along
the level shore, dropping its seeds as it rolls, which speedily
germinate and strike root where they fall. The globular heads are so
buoyant as to float lightly on the water, and the uppermost spines
acting as sails, they are thus carried across narrow estuaries to
continue the process of embanking on newly-formed sand bars. Such an
organisation irresistibly suggests the wonderful means ordained by
Providence to spread this valuable plant along the barren beach to which
no seed-devouring bird ever resorts; and even the unobservant natives,
struck by its singular utility in resisting the encroachments of the
sea, have recorded their admiration by conferring on it the name of
_Maha-Rawana roewula_,--"the great beard of Rawana or Rama."
The banks being thus ingeniously protected from the action of the air
above, and of the water at their base, other herbaceous plants soon
cover them in quick succession, and give the entire surface the first
aspect of vegetation. A little retired above high water are to be found
a species of _Aristolochia_[1], the Sayan[2], or _Choya_, the roots of
which are the Indian Madder (in which, under the Dutch Government, some
tribes in the Wanny paid their tribute); the gorgeous _Gloriosa
superba_, the beautiful _Vistnu-karandi_[3] with its profusion of blue
flowers, which remind one of the English "Forget-me-not," and the
thickly-matted verdure of the _Hiramana-doetta_[4], so well adapted for
imparting consistency to the soil. In the next stage low shrubs make
their appearance, their seeds being drifted by the waves and wind, and
taking ready root wherever they happen to rest. The foremost of these
are the Scaevolas[5] and Screw Pines[6], which grow luxuriantly within
the actual wash of the tide, while behind them rises a dense growth of
peculiar plants, each distinguished by the Singhalese by the prefix of
"Moodu," to indicate its partiality for the sea.[7]
[Footnote 1: _Aristolocia bracteata_. On the sands to the north of
Ceylon there is also the _A. Indica_, which forms the food of the great
red and white butterfly (_Papilio Hector_).]
[Footnote 2: _Hedyotis umbellata_. A very curious account of the Dutch
policy In relation to Choya dye will be found in a paper _On the
Vegetable Productions of Ceylon_, by W.C. ONDAATJIE, in the _Ceylon
Calendar_ for 1853. See also BERTOLACCI, B. iii. p. 270.]
[Footnote 3: Evolvulus alsinoides.]
[Footnote 4: Lippia nodiflora.]
[Footnote 5: Scaevola takkada and S. Koenigii]
[Footnote 6: Pandanus odoratissimus.]
[Footnote 7: _Moodu-kaduru (Ochrosia parviflora); Moodu-cobbe
(Ornitrophe serrata); Moodu-murunga (Sophora tomentosa_,) &c. &c.
Amongst these marine shrubs the Nil-picha (_Guettarda speciosca_), with
its white and delightfully fragrant flowers, is a conspicuous object on
some parts of the sea-shore between Colombo and Point-de-Galle.]
Where the sand in the lagoons and estuaries is more or less mingled with
the alluvium brought down by the rivers, there are plants of another
class which are equally characteristic. Amongst these the Mangroves[1]
take the first place in respect to their mass of vegetation; then follow
the Belli-patta[2] and Suriya-gaha[3], with their large hibiscus-like
flowers; the Tamarisks[4]; the Acanthus[5], with its beautiful blue
petals and holly-like leaves; the Water Coco-nut[6]; the AEgiceras and
Hernandia[7], with its sonorous fruits; while the dry sands above are
taken possession of by the Acacias, _Salvadora Persica_ (the true
mustard-tree of Scripture[8], which, here attains a height of forty
feet), Ixoras, and the numerous family of Cassias.
[Footnote 1: Two species of _Rhizophora_, two of _Bruguiera_, and one of
_Ceriops_.]
[Footnote 2: Paritimn tilliaceum.]
[Footnote 3: Thespesia populnea.]
[Footnote 4: Tamarix Indica.]
[Footnote 5: Dilivaria ilicifolia.]
[Footnote 6: Nipa fruticans.]
[Footnote 7: Hernandia sonora.]
[Footnote 8: The identification of this tree with the mustard-tree
alluded to by our Saviour is an interesting fact. The Greek term [Greek:
sinapis], which occurs Matt. xiii 31, and elsewhere, is the name given
to _mustard_; for which the Arabic equivalent is _chardul_ or _khardal_,
and the Syriac _khardalo_. The same name is applied at the present day
to a tree which grows freely in the neighbourhood of Jerusalem, and
generally throughout Palestine; the seeds of which, have an aromatic
pungency, which enables them to be used instead of the ordinary mustard
(_Sinapis nigra_); besides which, its structure presents all the
essentials to sustain the illustration sought to be established in the
parable, some of which are wanting or dubious in the common plant, It
has a very small seed; it may be sown in a garden: it grows into an
"herb," and eventually "becometh a tree; so that the birds of the air
come and lodge in the branches thereof." With every allowance for the
extremest development attainable by culture, it must be felt that the
dimensions of the domestic _sinapis_ scarcely justify the last
illustration; besides which it is an annual, and cannot possibly be
classed as a "tree." The khardal grows abundantly in Syria: it was found
in Egypt by Sir Gardner Wilkinson; in Arabia by Bove; on the Indus by
Sir Alexander Burnes; and throughout the north-west of India it bears
the name of kharjal. Combining all these facts, Dr. Royle, in an erudite
paper, has shown demonstrative reasons for believing that the _Salvadora
Persica_, the "kharjal" of Hindostan, is the "khardal" of Arabia, the
"chardul" of the Talmud, and the "mustard-tree" of the parable.]
Lastly, after a sufficiency of earth has been formed by the decay of
frequent successions of their less important predecessors, the ground
becomes covered by trees of ampler magnitude, most of which are found
upon the adjacent shores of the mainland--the Margoza[1], from whose
seed the natives express a valuable oil; the Timbiri[2], with the
glutinous nuts with which the fishermen "bark" their nets; the
Cashu-nut[3]; the Palu[4], one of the most valuable timber trees of the
Northern Provinces; and the Wood-apple[5], whose fruit is regarded by
the Singhalese as a specific for dysentery.
[Footnote 1: Azadirachta Indica.]
[Footnote 2: Diospyros glutinosa.]
[Footnote 3: Anacardium occidentale.]
[Footnote 4: Mimusopa hexandra.]
[Footnote 5: AEgle marmelos.]
But the most important fact connected with these recently formed
portions of land, is their extraordinary suitability for the growth of
the coco-nut, which requires the sea-air (and in Ceylon at least appears
never to attain its full luxuriance when removed to any considerable
distance from it)[1], and which, at the same time, requires a light and
sandy soil, and the constant presence of water in large quantities. All
these essentials are combined in the sea-belts here described, lying as
they do between the ocean on the one side and the fresh-water lakes
formed by the great rivers on the other, thus presenting every requisite
of soil and surface. It is along a sand formation of this description,
about forty miles long and from one to three miles broad, that thriving
coco-nut plantations have been recently commenced at Batticaloa. At
Calpentyn, on the western coast, a like formation has been taken
advantage of for the same purpose. At Jaffna somewhat similar
peculiarities of soil and locality have been seized on for this
promising cultivation; and, generally, along the whole seaborde of
Ceylon to the south and west, the shore for the breadth of one or two
miles exhibits almost continuous groves of coco-nut palms.
[Footnote 1: Coco-nuts are cultivated at moderate elevations in the
mountain villages of the Interior; but the fruit bears no comparison, in
number, size, or weight, with that produced in the lowlands, and near
the sea, on either side of the island.]
_Harbours_.--With the exception of the estuaries above alluded to,
chiefly in the northern section of the island, the outline of the coast
is interrupted by few sinuosities. There are no extensive inlets, or
bays, and only two harbours--that of _Point-de-Galle_ which, in addition
to being incommodious and small, is obstructed by coral rocks, reefs of
which have been upreared to the surface, and render the entrance
critical to strange ships[1]; and the magnificent basin of Trincomalie,
which, in extent, security, and beauty, is unsurpassed by any haven in
the world.
[Footnote 1: Owing to the obstructions at its entrance, Galle is
extremely difficult of access in particular winds. In 1857 it was
announced in the _Colombo Examiner_ that "the fine ship the 'Black
Eagle' was blown out of Galle Roads the other day, with the pilot on
board; whilst the captain was temporarily engaged on shore; and as she
was not able to beat in again, she made for Trincomalie, where she has
been lying for a fortnight. Such an event is by no means unprecedented
at Galle."--_Examiner_, 20 Sept. 1857.]
_Tides_.--The variation of the tides is so slight that navigation is
almost unaffected by it. The ordinary rise and fall is from 18 to 24
inches, with an increase of about a third at spring tides. High water is
later on the eastern than on the western coast; occurring, on full and
new moon, a little after eleven o'clock at Adam's Bridge, about 1
o'clock at Colombo, and 1.25 at Galle, whilst it attains its greatest
elevation between 5 and 6 o'clock in the harbour of Trincomalie.
_Red infusoria_.--On both sides of the island (but most frequently at
Colombo), during the south-west monsoon, a broad expanse of the sea
assumes a red tinge, considerably brighter than brick-dust; and this is
confined to a space so distinct that a line seems to separate it from
the green water which flows on either side. Observing that the whole
area changed its position without parting with any portion of its
colouring, I had some of the water brought on shore, and, on examination
with the microscope, it proved to be filled with _infusoria_, probably
similar to those which have been noticed near the shores of South
America, and whose abundance has imparted a name to the "Vermilion Sea"
off the coast of California.
THE POPULATION OF CEYLON, of all races, was, in 1857, 1,697,975; but
this was exclusive of the military and their families, both Europeans
and Malays, which together amounted to 5,430; and also of aliens and
other casual strangers, forming about 25,000 more.
The particulars are as follow:--
|Provinces |Whites. |Coloured. |Total. |Population|
| |Males.|Females.|Males.|Females.|Males.|Females. | to the |
|sq. mile. |
|Western. |1,293|1,246|293,409|259,106|294,702|260,352 | 146.59 |
|N. Western | 21| 11|100,807| 96,386|100,828| 96,397 | 59.93 |
|Southern | 238| 241|156,900|149,649|157,138|149,890 | 143.72 |
|Eastern | 201| 143| 39,923| 35,531| 40,124| 35,674 | 16.08 |
|Northern | 387| 362|153,062|148,678|153,449|149,040 | 55.85 |
|Central | 468| 204|143,472|116,237|143,940|116,441 | 52.57 |
| |2,608|2,207|887,573|805,587|890,181|807,794 | 69.73 |
CHAP. II.
CLIMATE.--HEALTH AND DISEASE.
The climate of Ceylon, from its physical configuration and insular
detachment, contrasts favourably with that of the great Indian
peninsula. Owing to the moderate dimensions of the island, the elevation
of its mountains, the very short space during which the sun is passing
over it[1] in his regression from or approach to the solstices, and its
surrounding seas being nearly uniform in temperature, it is exempt from
the extremes of heating and cooling to which the neighbouring continent
of India is exposed. From the same causes it is subjected more uniformly
to the genial influences of the trade winds that blow over the Indian
Ocean and the Bay of Bengal.
[Footnote 1: In his approach to the northern solstice, the sun, having
passed the equator on the 21st of March, reaches the south of Ceylon
about the 5th of April, and ten days later is vertical over Point Pedro,
the northern extremity of the island. On his return he is again over
Point Pedro about the 27th of August, and passes southward over Dondera
Head about the 7th of September.]
The island is seldom visited by hurricanes[1], or swept by typhoons, and
the breeze, unlike the hot and arid winds of Coromandel and the Dekkan,
is always more or less refreshing. The range of the thermometer exhibits
no violent changes, and never indicates a temperature insupportably
high. The mean on an annual average scarcely exceeds 80 deg. at Colombo,
though in exceptional years it has risen to 86 deg. But at no period of
the day are dangerous results to be apprehended from exposure to the sun;
and except during parts of the months of March, and April, there is no
season when moderate exercise is not practicable and agreeable. For half
the year, from October to May, the prevailing winds are from the
north-east, and during the remaining months the south-west monsoon blows
steadily from the great Indian Ocean. The former, affected by the wintry
chills of the vast tracts of land which it traverses before crossing the
Bay of Bengal, is subject to many local variations and intervals of
calm. But the latter, after the first violence of its outset is abated,
becomes nearly uniform throughout the period of its prevalence, and
presents the character of an on-shore breeze extending over a prodigious
expanse of sea and land, and exerting a powerful influence along the
regions of southern Asia.
[Footnote 1: The exception to the exemption of Ceylon from hurricanes is
the occasional occurrence of a cyclone extending its circle till the
verge has sometimes touched Batticaloa, on the south-eastern extremity
of the island, causing damage to vegetation and buildings. Such an event
is, however, exceedingly rare. On the 7th of January, 1805, H.M.S.
"Sheerness" and two others were driven on shore in a hurricane at
Trincomalie.]
In Ceylon the proverbial fickleness of the winds, and the uncertainty
which characterises the seasons in northern climates, is comparatively
unknown; and the occurrence of changes or rain may be anticipated with
considerable accuracy in any month of a coming year. There are, of
course, abnormal seasons with higher ranges of temperature, heavier
rains, or droughts of longer continuance, but such extremes are
exceptional and rare. Great atmospheric changes occur only at two
opposite periods of the year, and so gradual is their approach that the
climate is monotonous, and one longs to see again "the falling of the
leaf" to diversify the sameness of perennial verdure. The line is faint
which divides the seasons. No period of the year is divested of its
seed-time and its harvest in some part of the island; and fruit hangs
ripe on the same branches that are garlanded with opening buds. But as
every plant has its own period for the production of its flowers and
fruit, each month is characterised by its own peculiar flora.
As regards the foliage of the trees, it might be expected that the
variety of tints would be wanting which forms the charm of a European
landscape, and that all nature would wear one mantle of unchanging
green. But it has been remarked by a tasteful observer[1] that such is
far from the fact, and though in Ceylon there is no revolution of
seasons, the change of leaf on the same plant exhibits colours as bright
as those which tinge the autumnal woods of America. It is not the
decaying leaves, but the fresh shoots, which exhibit these brightened
colours, the older are still vividly green, whilst the young are
bursting forth; and the extremities of the branches present tufts of
pale yellow, pink, crimson, and purple, which give them at a distance
the appearance of a cluster of flowers.[2]
[Footnote 1: Prof. Harvey, Trin. Coll. Dublin.]
[Footnote 2: Some few trees, such as the margosa (_Azadirachta Indica_),
the country almond (_Terminalia catappa_), and others, are deciduous,
and part with their leaves. The cinnamon shoots forth in all shades from
bright yellow to dark crimson. The maella _(Olax Zeylanica)_ has always
a copper colour; and the ironwood trees of the interior have a perfect
blaze of young crimson leaves, as brilliant as flowers. The lovi-lovi
(_Flacourtia inermis_) has the same peculiarity; while the large bracts
of the mussaenda (_Mussaenda frondosa_) attract the notice of Europeans
for their angular whiteness.]
A notice of the variations exhibited by the weather at Colombo may serve
as an index to the atmospheric condition of the rest of the island,
except in those portions (such as the mountains of the interior, and the
low plains of the northern extremity) which exhibit modifications of
temperature and moisture incident to local peculiarities.
[Sidenote:
Wind N.E.
Temperature, 24 hours:
Mean greatest 85.6 deg
Mean least 69.2 deg
Rain (inches) 3.1]
_January_.--At the opening of the year, the north-east monsoon, which
sets in two months previously, is nearly in mid career. This wind,
issuing from the chill north and robbed of its aqueous vapour in passing
over the elevated mountain regions on the confines of China and Thibet,
sweeps across the Bay of Bengal, whence its lowest strata imbibe a
quantity of moisture, moderate in amount, yet still leaving the great
mass of air far below saturation. Hence it reaches Ceylon comparatively
dry, and its general effects are parching and disagreeable. This
character is increased as the sun recedes towards its most southern
declination, and the wind acquires a more direct draught from the north;
passing over the Indian peninsula and almost totally digested of
humidity, it blows down the western coast of the island, and is known
there by the name of the "along-shore-wind." For a time its influence is
uncomfortable and its effects injurious both to health and vegetation:
it warps and rends furniture, dries up the surface of the earth, and
withers the delicate verdure which had sprung up during the prevalence
of the previous rains. These characteristics, however, subside towards
the end of the month, when the wind becomes somewhat variable with a
westerly tendency and occasional showers; and the heat of the day is
then partially compensated by the greater freshness of the nights. The
fall of rain within the month scarcely exceeds three inches.
[Sidenote:
Wind N.E.
Temperature, 24 hours:
Mean greatest 89 deg.
Mean least 71 deg.
Rain (inches) 2.1]
_February_ is dry and hot during the day, but the nights are cloudless
and cool, and the moonlight singularly agreeable. Rain is rare, and when
it occurs it falls in dashes, succeeded by damp and sultry calms. The
wind is unsteady and shifts from north-east to north-west, sometimes
failing entirely between noon and twilight. The quantity of rain is less
than in January, and the difference of temperature between day and night
is frequently as great as 15 deg. or 20 deg.[1]
[Footnote 1: Dr. MACVICAR, in a paper in the _Ceylon Miscellany_, July,
1843, recorded the results of some experiments, made near Colombo, as to
the daily variation of temperature and Its effects on cultivation, from
which it appeared that a register thermometer, exposed on a tuft of
grass in the cinnamon garden in a clear night and under the open sky, on
the 2nd of January, 1841, showed in the morning that it had been so low
as 52 deg., and when laid on the ground in the place in the sunshine on the
following day, it rose to upwards of 140 deg. Fahr.]
[Sidenote:
Wind N.E. to N.W.
Temperature, 24 hours:
Mean greatest 87.7 deg.
Mean least 73.1 deg.
Rain (inches) 2.1]
_March_.--In March the heat continues to increase, the earth receiving
more warmth than it radiates or parts with by evaporation. The day
becomes oppressive, the nights unrefreshing, the grass is withered and
brown, the earth hard and cleft, the lakes shrunk to shallows, and the
rivers evaporated to dryness. Europeans now escape from the low country,
and betake themselves to the shade of the forests adjoining the
coffee-plantations in the hills; or to the still higher sanatarium of
Neuera-ellia, nearly the loftiest plateau in the mountains of the
Kandyan range. The winds, when any are perceptible, are faint and
unsteady with a still increasing westerly tendency, partial showers
sometimes fall, and thunder begins to mutter towards sunset. At the
close of the month, the mean temperature will be found to have advanced
about a degree, but the sensible temperature and the force of the sun's
rays are felt in a still more perceptible proportion.
[Sidenote:
Wind N.W. to S.W.
Temperature, 24 hours:
Mean greatest 88.7 deg.
Mean least 73.6 deg.
Rain (inches) 7.4]
_April_ is by far the most oppressive portion of the year for those who
remain at the sea-level of the island. The temperature continues to rise
as the sun in his northern progress passes vertically over the island. A
mirage fills the hollows with mimic water; the heat in close apartments
becomes extreme, and every living creature flies to the shade from the
suffocating glare of mid-day. At length the sea exhibits symptoms of an
approaching change, a ground swell sets in from the west, and the breeze
towards sunset brings clouds and grateful showers. At the end of the
month the mean temperature attains its greatest height during the year,
being about 83 deg. in the day, and 10 deg. lower at night.
[Sidenote:
Wind N.W. to S.W.
Temperature, 24 hours:
Mean greatest 87.2 deg.
Mean least 72.9 deg.
Rain (inches) 13.3]
_May_ is signalised by the great event of the change of the monsoon, and
all the grand phenomena which accompany its approach.
It is difficult for any one who has not resided in the tropics to
comprehend the feeling of enjoyment which accompanies these periodical
commotions of the atmosphere; in Europe they would be fraught with
annoyance, but in Ceylon they are welcomed with a relish proportionate
to the monotony they dispel.
Long before the wished-for period arrives, the verdure produced by the
previous rains becomes almost obliterated by the burning droughts of
March and April. The deciduous trees shed their foliage, the plants
cease to put forth fresh leaves, and all vegetable life languishes under
the unwholesome heat. The grass withers on the baked and cloven earth,
and red dust settles on the branches and thirsty brushwood. The insects,
deprived of their accustomed food, disappear underground or hide beneath
the decaying bark; the water-beetles bury themselves in the hardened mud
of the pools, and the _helices_ retire into the crevices of the stones
or the hollows amongst the roots of the trees, closing the apertures of
their shells with the hybernating epiphragm. Butterflies are no longer
seen hovering over the flowers, the birds appear fewer and less joyous,
and the wild animals and crocodiles, driven by the drought from their
accustomed retreats, wander through the jungle, and even venture to
approach the village wells in search of water. Man equally languishes
under the general exhaustion, ordinary exertion becomes distasteful, and
the native Singhalese, although inured to the climate, move with
lassitude and reluctance.
Meanwhile the air becomes loaded to saturation with aqueous vapour drawn
up by the augmented force of evaporation acting vigorously over land and
sea: the sky, instead of its brilliant blue, assumes the sullen tint of
lead, and not a breath disturbs the motionless rest of the clouds that
hang on the lower range of hills. At length, generally about the middle
of the month, but frequently earlier, the sultry suspense is broken by
the arrival of the wished-for change. The sun has by this time nearly
attained his greatest northern declination, and created a torrid heat
throughout the lands of southern Asia and the peninsula of India. The
air, lightened by its high temperature and such watery vapour as it may
contain, rises into loftier regions and is replaced by indraughts from
the neighbouring sea, and thus a tendency is gradually given to the
formation of a current bringing up from the south the warm humid air of
the equator. The wind, therefore, which reaches Ceylon comes laden with
moisture, taken up in its passage across the great Indian Ocean. As the
monsoon draws near, the days become more overcast and hot, banks of
clouds rise over the ocean to the west, and in the peculiar twilight the
eye is attracted by the unusual whiteness of the sea-birds that sweep
along the strand to seize the objects flung on shore by the rising surf.
At last the sudden lightnings flash among the hills and sheet through
the clouds that overhang the sea[1], and with a crash of thunder the
monsoon bursts over the thirsty land, not in showers or partial
torrents, but in a wide deluge, that in the course of a few hours
overtops the river banks and spreads in inundations over every level
plain.
[Footnote 1: The lightnings of Ceylon are so remarkable, that in the
middle ages they were as well known to the Arabian seamen, who coasted
the island on their way to China, as in later times the storms that
infested the Cape of Good Hope were familiar to early navigators of
Portugal. In the _Mohit_ of SIDI ALI CHELEBI, translated by Von Hammer,
it is stated that to seamen, sailing from Diu to Malacca, "the sign of
Ceylon being near is continual lightning, be it accompanied by rain or
without rain; so that 'the lightning of Ceylon' is proverbial for a
liar!"--_Journ. Asiat. Soc. Beng._ v. 465.]
All the phenomena of this explosion are stupendous: thunder, as we are
accustomed to be awed by it in Europe, affords but the faintest idea of
its overpowering grandeur in Ceylon, and its sublimity is infinitely
increased as it is faintly heard from the shore, resounding through
night and darkness over the gloomy sea. The lightning, when it touches
the earth where it is covered with the descending torrent, flashes into
it and disappears instantaneously; but, when it strikes a drier surface,
in seeking better conductors, it often opens a hollow like that formed
by the explosion of a shell, and frequently leaves behind it traces of
vitrification.[1] In Ceylon, however, occurrences of this kind are rare,
and accidents are seldom recorded from lightning, probably owing to the
profusion of trees, and especially of coco-nut palms, which, when
drenched with rain, intercept the discharge, and conduct the electric
matter to the earth. The rain at these periods excites the astonishment
of a European: it descends in almost continuous streams, so close and so
dense that the level ground, unable to absorb it sufficiently fast, is
covered with one uniform sheet of water, and down the sides of
acclivities it rushes in a volume that wears channels in the surface.[2]
For hours together, the noise of the torrent, as it beats upon the trees
and bursts upon the roofs, flowing thence in rivulets along the ground,
occasions an uproar that drowns the ordinary voice, and renders sleep
impossible.
[Footnote 1: See DARWIN'S _Naturalist's Voyage_, ch. iii. for an account
of those vitrified siliceous tubes which are formed by lightning
entering loose sand. During a thunderstorm which passed over Galle, on
the 16th May, 1854, the fortifications were shaken by lightning, and an
extraordinary cavity was opened behind the retaining wall of the
rampart, where a hole, a yard in diameter, was carried into the ground
to the depth of twenty feet, and two chambers, each six feet in length,
branched out on either side at its extremity.]
[Footnote 2: One morning on awaking at Pusilawa, in the hills between
Kandy and Neuera-ellia, I was taken to see the effect of a few hours'
rain, during the night, on a macadamised road which I had passed the
evening before. There was no symptom of a storm at sunset, and the
morning was bright and cloudless; but between midnight and dawn such an
inundation had swept the highway that in many places the metal had been
washed over the face of the acclivity; and in one spot where a sudden
bend forced the torrent to impinge against the bank, it had scooped out
an excavation extending to the centre of the high road, thirteen feet in
diameter, and deep enough to hold a carriage and horses.]
This violence, however, seldom lasts more than an hour or two, and
gradually abates after intermittent paroxysms, and a serenely clear sky
supervenes. For some days, heavy showers continue to fall at intervals
in the forenoon; and the evenings which follow are embellished by
sunsets of the most gorgeous splendour, lighting the fragments of clouds
that survive the recent storm.
[Sidenote:
Wind S.W.
Temperature, 24 hours:
Mean greatest 85.8 deg.
Mean least 74.4 deg.
Rain (inches) 6.8]
_June_.--The extreme heat of the previous month becomes modified in
June: the winds continue steadily to blow from the south-west, and
frequent showers, accompanied by lightning and thunder, serve still
further to diffuse coolness throughout the atmosphere and verdure over
the earth.
So instantaneous is the response of Nature to the influence of returning
moisture, that, in a single day, and almost between sunset and dawn, the
green hue of reviving vegetation begins to tint the saturated ground. In
ponds, from which but a week before the wind blew clouds of sandy dust,
the peasantry are now to be seen catching the re-animated fish; and
tank-shells and water-beetles revive and wander over the submerged
sedges. The electricity of the air stimulates the vegetation of the
trees; and scarce a week will elapse till the plants are covered with
the larvae of butterflies, the forest murmuring with the hum of insects,
and the air harmonious with the voice of birds.
The extent to which the temperature is reduced, after the first burst of
the monsoon, is not to be appreciated by the indications of the
thermometer alone, but is rendered still more sensible by the altered
density of the air, the drier state of which is favourable to
evaporation, whilst the increase of its movement bringing it more
rapidly in contact with the human body, heat is more readily carried
off, and the coolness of the surface proportionally increased. It
occasionally happens during the month of June that the westerly wind
acquires considerable strength, sometimes amounting to a moderate gale.
The fishermen, at this period, seldom put to sea: their canoes are drawn
far up in lines upon the shore, and vessels riding in the roads of
Colombo are often driven from their anchorage and stranded on the beach.
[Sidenote:
Wind S.W.
Temperature, 24 hours:
Mean greatest 84.8 deg
Mean least 74.9 deg
Rain (inches) 3.4]
_July_ resembles, to a great extent, the month which precedes it, except
that, in all particulars the season is more moderate, showers are less
frequent, there is less wind, and less absolute heat.
[Sidenote:
Wind S.W.
Temperature, 24 hours:
Mean greatest 84.9 deg.
Mean least 74.7 deg.
Rain (inches) 2.8]
_August_.--In August the weather is charming, notwithstanding
withstanding a slight increase of heat, owing to diminished evaporation;
and the sun being now on its return to the equator, its power is felt in
greater force on full exposure to its influence.
[Sidenote:
Wind S.W.
Temperature, 24 hours:
Mean greatest 84.9 deg
Mean least 74.8 deg
Rain (inches) 5.2]
_September_.--The same atmospheric condition continues throughout
September, but towards its close the sea-breeze becomes unsteady and
clouds begin to collect, symptomatic of the approaching change to the
north-east monsoon. The nights are always clear and delightfully cool.
Rain is sometimes abundant.
[Sidenote:
Wind S.W. and N.E.
Temperature, 24 hours:
Mean greatest 85.1 deg
Mean least 73.3 deg
Rain (inches) 11.2]
_October_ is more unsettled, the wind veering towards the north, with
pretty frequent rain; and as the sun is now far to the southward, the
heat continues to decline.
[Sidenote:
Wind N.E.
Temperature, 24 hours:
Mean greatest 86.3 deg
Mean least 71.5 deg
Rain (inches) 10.7]
_November_ sees the close of the south-west monsoon and the arrival of
the north-eastern. In the early part of the month the wind visits nearly
every point of the compass, but shows a marked predilection for the
north, generally veering from N.E. at night and early morning, to N.W.
at noon; calms are frequent and precede gentle showers, and clouds form
round the lower range of hills. By degrees as the sun advances in its
southern declination, and warms the lower half of the great African
continent, the current of heated air ascending from the equatorial belt
leaves a comparative vacuum, towards which the less rarefied atmospheric
fluid is drawn down from the regions north, of the tropic, bringing with
it the cold and dry winds from the Himalayan Alps, and the lofty ranges
of Assam. The great change is heralded as before by oppressive calms,
lurid skies, vivid lightning, bursts of thunder, and tumultuous rain.
But at this change of the monsoon the atmospheric disturbance is less
striking than in May; the previous temperature is lower, the moisture of
the air is more reduced, and the change is less agreeably perceptible
from the southern breeze to the dry and parching wind from the north.
[Sidenote:
Wind N.E.
Temperature 24 hours:
Mean greatest 85 deg.
Mean least 70 deg.
Rain (inches) 4.3]
_December_.--In December the sun attains to its greatest southern
declination, and the wind setting steadily from the northeast brings
with it light but frequent rains from Bay Of Bengal. The thermometer
shows a maximum temperature of 85 deg. with a minimum of 70 deg.; the
morning and the afternoon are again enjoyable in the open air, but at
night every lattice that faces the north is cautiously closed against
the treacherous "along-shore-wind."
Notwithstanding the violence and volume in which the rains have been
here described as descending during the paroxysms of the monsoons, the
total rain-fall in Ceylon is considerably less than on the continent of
Throughout Hindustan the annual mean is 117.5 and on some parts on the
Malabar coast, upwards of 300 inches have fallen in a single year[1];
whereas the in Ceylon rarely exceeds 80, and the highest registered in
an exceptional season was 120 inches.
[Footnote 1: At Mahabaleshwar, in the Western Ghauts, the annual mean is
254 inches, and at Uttray Mullay; in Malabar, 263; whilst at Bengal it
is 209 inches at Sylhet; and 610.3 at Cherraponga.]
The distribution is of course unequal, both as to time and localities,
and in those districts where the fall is most considerable, the number
of rainless days is the greatest.[1] An idea may be formed of the deluge
that descends in Colombo during the change of the monsoon, from the fact
that out of 72.4 inches, the annual average there, no less than 20.7
inches fall in April and May, and 21.9 in October and November, a
quantity one-third greater than the total rain in England throughout an
entire year.
[Footnote 1: The average number of days on which rain fell at Colombo in
the years 1832, 1833, 1834, and 1835, was as follows:--
Days.
In January 3
February 4
March 6
April 11
May 13
June 13
July 8
August 10
September 14
October 17
November 11
December 8
---
Total 118]
In one important particular the phenomenon, of the Dekkan affords an
analogy for that which presents itself in Ceylon. During the south-west
monsoon the clouds are driven against the lofty chain of mountains that
overhang the western shore of the peninsula, and their condensed vapour
descends there in copious showers. The winds, thus early robbed of their
moisture, carry but little rain to the plains of the interior, and
whilst Malabar is saturated by daily showers, the sky of Coromandel is
clear and serene. In the north-east monsoon a condition the very
opposite exists; the wind that then prevails is much drier, and the
hills which it encounters being of lower altitude, the rains are carried
further towards the interior, and whilst the weather is unsettled and
stormy on the eastern shore, the western is comparatively exempt, and
enjoys a calm and cloudless sky.[1]
[Footnote 1: The mean of rain is, on the western side of the Dekkan, 80
inches, and on the eastern, 52.8.]
In like manner the west coast of Ceylon presents a contrast with the
east, both in the volume of rain in each of the respective monsoons, and
in the influence which the same monsoon exerts simultaneously on the one
side of the island and on the other. The greatest quantity of rain falls
on the south-western portion, in the month of May, when the wind from
the Indian Ocean is intercepted, and its moisture condensed by the lofty
mountain ranges, surrounding Adam's Peak. The region principally
affected by it stretches from Point-de-Galle, as far north as Putlam,
and eastward till it includes the greater portion of the ancient Kandyan
kingdom. But the rains do not reach the opposite side of the island;
whilst the west coast is deluged, the east is sometimes exhausted with
dryness; and it not unfrequently happens that different aspects of the
same mountain present at the same moment the opposite extremes of
drought and moisture.[1]
[Footnote 1: ADMIRAL FITZROY has described, in his _Narrative of the
Voyages of the Adventure and Beagle_, the striking degree in which this
simultaneous dissimilarity of climate is exhibited on opposite sides of
the Galapagos Islands; one aspect exposed to the south being covered
with verdure and freshened with moisture, whilst all others are barren
and parched.--Vol. ii. p. 502-3. The same state of things exists in the
east and west sides of the Peruvian Andes, and in the mountains of
Patagonia. And no more remarkable example of it exists than in the
island of Socotra, east of the Straits of Bab el Mandeb, the west coast
of which, during the north-east monsoon, is destitute of rain and
verdure, whilst the eastern side is enriched by streams and covered by
luxuriant pasturage.--_Journ. Asiat. Soc. Beng._ vol. iv. p. 141.]
[Illustration: DIAGRAM EXHIBITING THE COMPARATIVE FALL OF RAIN ON THE
SEABORDE OF THE DEEKAN, AND AT COLOMBO, IN THE WESTERN PROVINCE OF
CEYLON.
One maximum at the spring change of the monsoon anticipating a little
that on the West coast of India; another at the autumnal change
corresponding more exactly with that of the East coast. The entire fall
through the year more equably distributed at Columbo.]
On the east coast, on the other hand, the fall, during the north-east
monsoon, is very similar in degree to that on the coast of Coromandel,
as the mountains are lower and more remote from the sea, the clouds are
carried farther inland and it rains simultaneously on both sides of the
island, though much less on the west than during the other monsoon.
_The climate of Galle_, as already stated, resembles in its general
characteristics that of Colombo, but, being further to the south, and
more equally exposed to the influence of both the monsoons, the
temperature is not quite so high; and, during the cold season, it falls
some degrees lower, especially in the evening and early morning.[1]
[Footnote 1: At Point-de-Galle, in 1854, the number of rainy days was as
follows:
Days.
January 12
February 7
March 16
April 12
May 23
June 18
July 11
August 21
September 16
October 20
November 15
December 13]
_Kandy_, from its position, shares in the climate of the western coast;
but, from the frequency of the mountain showers, and its situation, at
an elevation of upwards of sixteen hundred feet above the level of the
sea, it enjoys a much cooler temperature. It differs from the low
country in one particular, which is very striking--the early period of
the day at which the maximum heat is attained. This at Colombo is
generally between two and three o'clock in the afternoon, whereas at
Kandy the thermometer shows the highest temperature of the day between
ten and eleven o'clock in the morning.
In the low country, ingenuity has devised so many expedients for defence
from the excessive heat of the forenoon, that the languor it induces is
chiefly experienced after sunset, and the coolness of the night is
insufficient to compensate for the exhaustion of the day; but, in Kandy,
the nights are so cool that it is seldom that warm covering can be
altogether dispensed with. In the colder months, the daily range of the
thermometer is considerable--approaching 30 deg.; in the others, it differs
little from 15 deg. The average mean, however, of each month throughout the
year is nearly identical, deviating only a degree from 76 deg., the mean
annual temperature.[1]
[Footnote 1: The following Table appeared in the _Colombo Observer_, and
is valuable from the care taken by Mr. Caley in its preparation;
_Analysis of the Climate at Peradenia, from 1851 to 1858 inclusive._
|Months. | Temperature. | Rainfall. | Remarks. |
| | | | |Aver-| |Average| |
| |Max. |Min.|Mean.|age | In.|of | |
| | | | | of | |Years / |
| | | | |Years| \ / |
|January |85.0 |52.5|74.06|6 |4.04 |6 |Fine, sunny, heavy dew at |
| | | | | | | |night, hot days, and cold |
| | | | | | | |nights and mornings. |
|February |87.75|55.0|75.76|7 |1.625 |6 |Fine, sunny, dewy nights, |
| | | | | | | |foggy mornings, days hot, |
| | | | | | | |nights and mornings cold. |
|March |89.5 |59.5|77.42|7 |3.669 |6 |Generally a very hot and |
| | | | | | | |oppressive month. |
|April |89.5 |67.5|77.91|7 |7.759 |6 |Showery, sultry, and |
| | | | | | | | oppressive weather. |
|May |88.0 |66.0|77.7 |8 |8.022 |6 |Cloudy, windy, rainy; |
| monsoon generally changes.|
|June |86.0 |71.0|76.69|8 |7.155 |6 |A very wet and stormy month.|
|July |86.0 |67.0|75.64|8 |5.72 |6 |Ditto ditto |
|August |85.5 |67.0|75.81|8 |8.55 |6 |Showery, but sometimes more |
| | | | | | | |moderate, variable |
|September |85.5 |67.0|76.13|8 |6.318 |6 |Pretty dry weather, compared|
| | | | | | | |with the next two months. |
|October |85.73|68.2|75.1 |8 |15.46 |6 |Wind variable, much rain. |
|November |84.0 |62.0|74.79|8 |14.732|6 |Wind variable, storms from |
| | | | | | | |all points of compass, wet; |
| | | | | | | |monsoon generally changes. |
|December |82.75|57.0|74.05|7 |7.72 |5 |Sometimes wet, but generally|
| | | | | | | |more moderate; towards |
| | | | | | | |end of year like January |
| | | | | | | |weather. |
Mean yearly Temperature, Mean yearly Nov. 29, 1858
75.92 deg Rainfall, 91.75 J.A. CALEY.
in. nearly.]
In all the mountain valleys, the soil being warmer than the air, vapour
abounds in the early morning for the most part of the year. It greatly
adds to the chilliness of travelling before dawn; but, generally
speaking, it is not wetting, as it is charged with the same electricity
as the surface of the earth and the human body. When seen from the
heights, it is a singular object, as it lies compact and white as snow
in the hollows beneath, but it is soon put in motion by the morning
currents, and wafted in the direction of the coast, where it is
dissipated by the sunbeams.
_Snow_ is unknown in Ceylon; _Hail_ occasionally falls in the Kandyan
hills at the change of the monsoon,[1] but more frequently during that
from the north-east. As observed at Kornegalle, the clouds, after
collecting as usual for a few evenings, and gradually becoming more
dense, advanced in a wedge-like form, with a well-defined outline. The
first fall of rain was preceded by a downward blast of cold air,
accompanied by hailstones which outstripped the rain in their descent.
Rain and hail then poured down together, and, eventually, the latter
only spread its deluge far and wide, In 1852, the hail which thus fell
at Kornegalle was of such a size that half-a-dozen lumps filled a
tumbler, In shape, they were oval and compressed, but the mass appeared
to have formed an hexagonal pyramid, the base of which was two inches in
diameter, and about half-an-inch thick, gradually thinning towards the
edge. They were tolerably solid internally, each containing about the
size of a pea of clear ice at the centre, but the sides and angles were
spongy and flocculent, as if the particles had been driven together by
the force of the wind, and had coalesced at the instant of contact. A
phenomenon so striking as the fall of ice, at the moment of the most
intense atmospherical heat, naturally attracts the wonder of the
natives, who hasten to collect the pieces, and preserve them, when
dissolved, in bottles, from a belief in their medicinal properties. Mr.
Morris, who has repeatedly observed hailstones in the Seven Korles, is
under the impression that their occurrence always happens at the first
outburst of the monsoon, and that they fall at the moment, which is
marked by the first flash of lightning.
[Footnote 1: It is stated in the _Physical Atlas_ of KEITH JOHNSTON,
that hail in India has not been noticed south of Madras. But in Ceylon
it has fallen very recently at Korngalle, at Badulla, at Kaduganawa; and
I have heard of a hail storm at Jaffna. On 1 the 24th of Sept. 1857,
during a thunder-storm, hail fell near Matelle in such quantity that in
places it formed drifts upwards of a foot in depth.]
According to Professor Stevelly, of Belfast, the rationale of their
appearance on such occasions seems to be that, on the sudden formation
and descent of the first drops, the air expanding and rushing into the
void spaces, robs the succeeding drops of their caloric so effectually
as to send them to the earth frozen into ice-balls.
These descriptions, it will be observed, apply exclusively to the
southern regions on the east and west of Ceylon; and, in many
particulars, they are inapplicable to the northern portions of the
island. At Trincomalie, the climate bears a general resemblance to that
of the Indian peninsula south of Madras: showers are frequent, but
light, and the rain throughout the year does not exceed forty inches.
With moist winds and plentiful dew, this sustains a vigorous vegetation
near the coast; but in the interior it would be insufficient for the
culture of grain, were not the water husbanded in tanks; and, for this
reason, the bulk of the population are settled along the banks of the
great rivers.
The temperature of this part of Ceylon follows the course of the sun,
and ranges from a minimum of 70 deg. in December and January, to a maximum
of 94 deg. in May and June; but the heat is rendered tolerable at all
seasons by the steadiness of the land and sea breezes.[1]
[Footnote 1: The following facts regarding the climate of Trincomalie
have been, arranged from elaborate returns furnished by Mr. Higgs, the
master-attendant of the port, and published under the authority of the
meteorological department of the Board of Trade:--
_Trincomalie_.
|Extreme
|Mean |Mean |Range |Highest |Days
1854 |Maximum |Minimum |for the |Temperature|of
|Temperature |Temperature |Month |Noted |Rain
Jan. | 81.3 deg. | 74.7 deg. | 14 deg. | 83 | 10
Feb. | 83.8 | 75.8 | 14 | 86 | 7
Mar. | 85.9 | 76.1 | 16 | 88 | 3
April| 89.6 | 78.9 | 16 | 92 | 3
May | 89.1 | 79.3 | 19 | 93 | 3
June | 90.0 | 79.5 | 19 | 94 | 3
July | 87.7 | 77.7 | 16 | 90 | 5
Aug. | 87.9 | 77.4 | 16 | 91 | 4
Sept.| 89.3 | 77.8 | 18 | 93 | 2
Oct. | 85.2 | 75.8 | 15 | 89 | 14
Nov. | 81.O | 74.9 | 11 | 83 | 15
Dec. | 80.1 | 74.3 | 11 | 82 | 15
Mean temperature for the year 81.4.]
In the extreme north of the island, the peninsula of Jaffna, and the
vast plains of Neura-kalawa and the Wanny, form a third climatic
division, which, from the geological structure and peculiar
configuration of the district, differs essentially from the rest of
Ceylon. This region, which is destitute of mountains, is undulating in a
very slight degree; the dry and parching north-east wind desiccates the
soil in its passage, and the sandy plains are covered with a low and
scanty vegetation, chiefly fed by the night dews and whatever moisture
is brought by the on-shore wind. The total rain of the year does not
exceed thirty inches; and the inhabitants live in frequent apprehension
of droughts and famines. These conditions attain their utmost
manifestation at the extreme north and in the Jaffna peninsula: there
the temperature is the highest[1] in the island, and, owing to the
humidity of the situation and the total absence of hills, it is but
little affected by the changes of the monsoons; and the thermometer
keeps a regulated pace with the progress of the sun to and from the
solstices. The soil, except in particular spots, is porous and sandy,
formed from the detritus of the coral rocks which it overlays. It is
subject to droughts sometimes of a whole year's continuance; and rain,
when it falls, is so speedily absorbed, that it renders but slight
service to cultivation, which is entirely carried on by means of tanks
and artificial irrigation, in the practice of which the Tamil population
of this district exhibits singular perseverance and ingenuity.[2] In the
dry season, when scarcely any verdure is discernible above ground, the
sheep and goats feed on their knees--scraping away the sand, in order to
reach the wiry and succulent roots of the grasses. From the constancy of
this practice horny callosities are produced, by which these hardy
creatures may be distinguished.
[Footnote 1: The mean lowest temperature at Jaffna is 70 deg, the mean
highest 90 deg; but in 1845-6 the thermometer rose to 90 deg and
100 deg.]
[Footnote 2: For an account of the Jaffna wells, and the theory of their
supply with fresh water, see ch. i. p. 21.]
Water-spouts are frequent on the coast of Ceylon, owing to the different
temperature of the currents of air passing across the heated earth and
the cooler sea, but instances are very rare of their bursting over land,
or of accidents in consequence.[1]
[Footnote 1: CAMOENS, who had opportunities of observing the phenomena
of these seas during his service on board the fleet of Cabral, off the
coast of Malabar and Ceylon, has introduced into the _Lusiad_ the
episode of a water-spout in the Indian Ocean; but, under the belief that
the water which descends had been previously drawn up by suction from
the ocean, he exclaims:--
"But say, ye sages, who can weigh the cause,
And trace the secret springs of Nature's laws;
Say why the wave, of bitter brine erewhile,
Should be the bosom of the deep recoil,
Robbed of its salt, and from the cloud distil,
Sweet as the waters of the limpid rill?"
(Book v.)
But the truth appears to be that the torrent which descends from a
water-spout, is but the condensed accumulation of its own vapour, and,
though in the hollow of the lower cone which rests upon the surface of
the sea, salt water may possibly ascend in the partial vacuum caused by
revolution; or spray may be caught up and collected by the wind, still
these cannot be raised by it beyond a very limited height, and what
Camoens saw descend was, as he truly says, the sweet water distilled
from the cloud.]
A curious phenomenon, to which the name of "anthelia" has been given,
and which may probably have suggested to the early painters the idea of
the glory surrounding the heads of beatified saints, is to be seen in
singular beauty, at early morning, in Ceylon. When the light is intense,
and the shadows proportionally dark--when the sun is near the horizon,
and the shadow of a person walking is thrown on the dewy grass--each
particle of dew furnishes a double reflection from its concave and
convex surfaces; and to the spectator his own figure, but more
particularly the head, appears surrounded by a halo as vivid as if
radiated from diamonds.[1] The Buddhists may possibly have taken from
this beautiful object their idea of the _agni_ or emblem of the sun,
with which the head of Buddha is surmounted. But unable to express a
_halo_ in sculpture, they concentrated it into a _flame_.
[Footnote 1: SCORESBY describes the occurrence of a similar phenomenon
in the Arctic Seas in July, 1813, the luminous circle being produced on
the particles of fog which rested on the calm water. "The lower part of
the circle descended beneath my feet to the side of the ship, and
although it could not be a hundred feet from the eye, it was perfect,
and the colours distinct. The centre of the coloured circle was
distinguished by my own shadow, the head of which, enveloped by a halo,
was most conspicuously pourtrayed. The halo or glory evidently impressed
on the fog, but the figure appeared to be a shadow on the water; the
different parts became obscure in proportion to their remoteness from
the head, so that the lower extremities were not perceptible."--_Account
of the Arctic Regions_, vol. i. ch. v. sec. vi. p. 394. A similar
phenomenon occurs in the Khasia Hills, in the north-east of
Bengal.--_Asiat. Soc. Journ. Beng._ vol. xiii. p. 616.]
[Illustration: THE ANTHELIA AS IT APPEARS TO THE PERSON HIMSELF]
Another luminous phenomenon which sometimes appears in the hill country,
consists of beams of light, which intersect the sky, whilst the sun is
yet in the ascendant; sometimes horizontally, accompanied by
intermitting movements, and sometimes vertically, a broad belt of the
blue sky interposing between them.[1]
[Footnote 1: VIGNE mentions an appearance of this kind in the valley of
Kashmir: "Whilst the rest of the horizon was glowing golden over the
mountain tops, a broad well-defined ray-shaped streak of indigo was
shooting upwards in the zenith: it remained nearly stationary about an
hour, and was then blended into the sky around it, and disappeared with
the day. It was, no doubt, owing to the presence of some particular
mountains which intercepted the red rays, and threw a blue shadow, by
causing so much of the sky above Kashmir to remain unaffected by
them."--_Travels in Kashmir_, vol. ii. ch. x. p. 115.]
In Ceylon this is doubtless owing to the air holding in suspension a
large quantity of vapour, which receives shadows and reflects rays of
light. The natives, who designate them "Buddha's rays," attach a
superstitious dread to their appearance, and believe them to be
portentous of misfortune--in every month, with the exception of _May_,
which, for some unexplained reason, is exempted.
HEALTH.--In connection with the subject of "Climate," one of the most
important inquiries is the probable effect on the health and
constitution of a European produced by a prolonged exposure to an
unvarying temperature, upwards of 30 degrees higher than the average of
Great Britain. But to this the most tranquillising reply is the
assurance that _mere heat, even to a degree beyond that of Ceylon, is
not unhealthy in itself_. Aden, enclosed in a crater of an extinct
volcano, is not considered insalubrious; and the hot season in India,
when the thermometer stands at 100 deg. at midnight, is comparatively a
healthy period of the year. In fact, in numerous cases heat may be the
means of removing the immediate sources of disease. Its first
perceptible effect is a slight increase, of the normal bodily
temperature beyond 98 deg., and, simultaneously, an increased activity of
all the vital functions. To this everything contributes an exciting
sympathy--the glad surprise of the natural scenery, the luxury of
verdure, the tempting novelty of fruits and food, and all the
unaccustomed attractions of a tropical home. Under these combined
influences the nervous sensibility is considerably excited, and the
circulation acquires greater velocity, with somewhat diminished force.
This is soon followed, however, by the disagreeable evidences of the
effort made by the system to accommodate itself to the new atmospheric
condition. The skin often becomes fretted by "prickly heat," or
tormented by a profusion of boils, but relief being speedily obtained
through these resources, the new comer is seldom afterwards annoyed by a
recurrence of the process, unless under circumstances of impaired tone,
the result of weakened digestion or climatic derangement.
_Malaria_.--Compared with Bengal and the Dekkan, the climate of Ceylon
presents a striking superiority in mildness and exemption from all the
extremes of atmospheric disturbance; and, except in particular
localities, all of which are well known and avoided[1], from being
liable after the rains to malaria, or infested at particular seasons
with agues and fever, a lengthened residence in the island may be
contemplated, without the slightest apprehension of prejudicial results.
These pestilential localities are chiefly at the foot of mountains, and,
strange to say, in the vicinity of some active rivers, whilst the vast
level plains, whose stagnant waters are made available for the
cultivation of rice, are seldom or never productive of disease. It is
even believed that the deadly air is deprived of its poison in passing
over an expanse of still water; and one of the most remarkable
circumstances is, that the points fronting the aerial currents are those
exposed to danger, whilst projecting cliffs, belts of forest, and even
moderately high walls, serve to protect all behind them from attack.[2]
In traversing districts suspected of malaria, experience has dictated
certain precautions, which, with ordinary prudence and firmness, serve
to neutralise the risk--retiring punctually at sunset, generous diet,
moderate stimulants, and the daily use of quinine both before and after
exposure. These, and the precaution, at whatever sacrifice of comfort,
to sleep under mosquito curtains, have been proved in long journeys to
be valuable prophylactics against fever and the pestilence of the
jungle.
[Footnote 1: Notwithstanding this general condition, fevers of a very
serious kind have been occasionally known to attack persons on the
coast, who had never exposed themselves to the miasma of the jungle.
Such instances have occurred at Galle, and more rarely at Colombo. The
characteristics of places in this regard have, in some instances,
changed unaccountably; thus at Persadenia, close to Kandy, it was at one
time regarded as dangerous to sleep.]
[Footnote 2: Generally speaking, a flat open country is healthy, either
when flooded deeply by rains, or when dried to hardness by the sun; but
in the process of dessication, its exhalations are perilous. The wooded
slopes at the base of mountains are notorious for fevers; such as the
_terrai_ of the Nepal hills, the Wynaad jungle, at the foot of the
Ghauts, and the eastern side of the mountains of Ceylon.]
_Food_.--Always bearing in mind that of the quantity of food habitually
taken in a temperate climate, a certain proportion is consumed to
sustain the animal heat, it is obvious that in the glow of the tropics,
where the heat is already in excess, this portion of the ingesta not
only becomes superfluous so far as this office is concerned, but
occasions disturbance of the other functions both of digestion and
elimination. Over-indulgence in food, equally with intemperance in wine,
is one fruitful source of disease amongst Europeans in Ceylon; and
maladies and mortality are often the result of the former, in patients
who would repel as an insult the imputation of the latter.
So well have national habits conformed to instinctive promptings in this
regard, that the natives of hot countries have unconsciously sought to
heighten the enjoyment of food by taking their principal repast _after
sunset_[1]; and the European in the East will speedily discover for
himself the prudence, not only of reducing the quantity, but in regard
to the quality of his meals, of adopting those articles which nature has
bountifully supplied as best suited to the climate. With a moderate use
of flesh meat, vegetables, and especially farinaceous food, are chiefly
to be commended.
[Footnote 1: The prohibition of swine, which has formed an item in the
dietetic ritual of the Egyptians, the Hebrews, and Mahometans, has been
defended in all ages, from Manetho and Herodotus downwards, on the
ground that the flesh of an animal so foully fed has a tendency to
promote cutaneous disorders, a belief which, though held as a fallacy in
northern climates, may have a truthful basis in the East.--AELIAN, _Hist.
Anim._ 1. X. 16. In a recent general order Lord Clyde has prohibited its
use in the Indian army. Camel's flesh, which is also declared unclean in
Leviticus, is said to produce in the Arabs serious derangement of the
stomach.]
The latter is rendered attractive by the unrivalled excellence of the
Singhalese in the preparation of innumerable curries[1], each tempered
by the delicate creamy juice expressed from the flesh of the coco-nut
after it has been reduced to a pulp. Nothing of the same class in India
can bear a comparison with the piquant delicacy of a curry in Ceylon,
composed of fresh condiments and compounded by the skilful hand of a
native.
[Footnote 1: The popular error of thinking curry to be an invention of
the Portuguese in India is disproved by the mention in the _Rajavali_ of
its use in Ceylon in the second century before the Christian era, and in
the _Mahawanso_ in the fifth century of it. This subject is mentioned
elsewhere: see chapter on the Arts and Sciences of the Singhalese.]
_The use of fruit_--Fruits are abundant and wholesome; but with the
exception of oranges, pineapples, the luscious mango and the
indescribable "rambutan," for want of horticultural attention they are
inferior in flavour, and soon cease to be alluring.
_Wine_.--Wine has of late years become accessible to all, and has thus,
in some degree, been substituted for brandy; the abuse of which at
former periods is commemorated in the records of those fearful disorders
of the liver, derangements of the brain, exhausting fevers, and visceral
diseases, which characterise the medical annals of earlier times. With a
firm adherence to temperance in the enjoyment of stimulants, and
moderation in the pleasures of the table, with attention to exercise and
frequent resort to the bath, it may be confidently asserted that health
in Ceylon is as capable of preservation and life as susceptible of
enjoyment, as in any country within the tropics.
_Exposure_.--Prudence and foresight are, however, as indispensable there
as in any other climate to escape well-understood risks. Catarrhs and
rheumatism are as likely to follow needless exposure to the withering
"along-shore wind" of the winter months in Ceylon[1], as they are
traceable to unwisely confronting the east winds of March in Great
Britain; and during the alternation, from the sluggish heat which
precedes the monsoon, to the moist and chill vapours that follow the
descent of the rains, intestinal disorders, fevers, and liver complaints
are not more characteristic of an Indian monsoon than an English autumn,
and are equally amenable to those precautions by which liability may be
diminished in either place.
[Footnote 1: See _ante_, p. 57. It is an agreeable characteristic of the
climate of Ceylon, that sun-stroke, which is so common even in the
northern portions of India, is almost unknown in the island. Sportsmen
are out all day long in the hottest weather, a practice which would be
thought more than hazardous in Oude or the north-west provinces. Perhaps
an explanation of this may be found in the difference in moisture in the
two atmospheres, which may modify the degrees of evaporation; but the
inquiry is a curious one. It is becoming better understood in the army
that active service, and even a moderate exposure to the solar rays
(_always guarding them from the head_,) are conducive rather than
injurious to health in the tropics. The pale and sallow complexion of
ladies and children born in India, is ascribable in a certain degree to
the same process by which vegetables are blanched under shades which
exclude the light:--they are reared in apartments too carefully kept
dark.]
_Paleness_.--At the same time it must be observed, that the pallid
complexion peculiar to old residents, is not alone ascribable to an
organic change in the skin from its being the medium of perpetual
exudation, but in part to a deficiency of red globules in the blood, and
mainly to a reduced vigour in the whole muscular apparatus, including
the action of the heart, which imperfectly compensates by increased
rapidity for diminution of power. It is remarkable how suddenly this
sallowness disappears, and is succeeded by the warm tints of health,
after a visit of a very few days to the plains of Neuera-ellia, or the
picturesque coffee plantations in the hills that surround it.
_Ladies_.--Ladies, from their more regular and moderate habits, and
their avoidance of exposure, might be expected to withstand the climate
better than men; and to a certain extent the anticipation appears to be
correct, but it by no means justifies the assumption of general
immunity. Though less obnoxious to specific disease, debility and
delicacy are the frequent results of habitual seclusion and avoidance of
the solar light. These, added to more obvious causes of occasional
illness, suggest the necessity of vigorous exertion and regular exercise
as indispensable protectives.
If suitably clothed, and not injudiciously fed, children may remain in
the island till eight or ten years of age, when anxiety is excited by
the attenuation of the frame and the apparent absence of strength in
proportion to development. These symptoms, the result of relaxed tone
and defective nutrition, are to be remedied by change of climate either
to the more lofty ranges of the mountains, or, more providently, to
Europe.
_Effects on Europeans already Diseased_.--To persons already suffering
from disease, the experiment of a residence in Ceylon is one of
questionable propriety. Those of a scrofulous diathesis need not
consider it hazardous, as experience does not show that in such there is
any greater susceptibility to local or constitutional disorders, or that
when these are present, there is greater difficulty in their removal.
To those threatened with consumption, the island may be supposed to
offer some advantages in the equability of the temperature, and the
comparative quiescence of the lungs from reduced necessity for
respiratory effort. Besides, the choice of climates presented by Ceylon
enables a patient, by the easy change of residence to a different
altitude and temperature, avoiding the heats of one period and the dry
winds of another, to check to a great extent the predisposing causes
likely to lead to the development of tubercle. This, with attention to
clothing and systematic exercise as preventives of active disease, may
serve to restrain the further progress though it fail to eradicate the
tendency to phthibis. But when already the formation of tubercle has
taken place to any considerable extent, and is accompanied by softening,
the morbid condition is not unlikely to advance with alarming celerity;
and the only compensating circumstance is the diminution of apparent
suffering, ascribable to general languor, and the absence of the
bronchial irritation occasioned by cold humid air.
_Dyspepsia_.--Habitual dyspeptics, and those affected by hepatic
obstructions, had better avoid a lengthened sojourn in Ceylon; but the
tortures of rheumatism and gout, if they be not reduced, are certainly
postponed for longer intervals than those conceded to the same sufferers
in England. Gout, owing to the great cutaneous excretion, in most
instances totally disappears.
_Precautions for Health_.--Next to attention to diet, health in Ceylon
is mainly to be preserved by systematic exercise, and a costume adapted
to the climate and its requirements. Paradoxical as it may sound, the
great cause of disease in hot climates is _cold_. Nothing ought more
cautiously to be watched and avoided than the chills produced by
draughts and dry winds; and a change of dress or position should be
instantly resorted to when the warning sensation of chilliness is
perceived.
_Exercise_.--The early morning ride, after a single cup of coffee and a
biscuit on rising, and the luxury of the bath before dressing for
breakfast, constitute the enjoyments of the forenoon; and a similar
stroll on horseback, returning at sunset to repeat the bath[1]
preparatory to the evening toilette, completes the hygienic discipline
of the day. At night the introduction of the Indian punka into bed-rooms
would be valuable, a thin flannel coverlet being spread over the bed.
Nothing serves more effectually to break down an impaired constitution
in the tropics than the want of timely and refreshing sleep.
[Footnote 1: "Je me souviens que les deux premieres annees que je fus en
ce pais-la, j'eus deux maladies: _alors je pris la couetume de me bien
laver soir et matin_, et pendant 16 ans que j'y ay demeure depuis, je
n'ay pas senti le moindre mal."--RIBEYRO, _Hist. de l'Isle de Ceylan_,
vol. v. ch. xix. p. 149.]
_Dress_.--In the selection of dress experience has taught the
superiority of calico to linen, the latter, when damp from the
exhalation of the skin, causing a chill which is injurious, whilst the
former, from some peculiarity in its fibre, however moist it may become,
never imparts the same sensation of cold. The clothing best adapted to
the climate is that whose texture least excites the already profuse
perspiration, and whose fashion presents the least impediment to its
escape.[1] The discomfort of woollen has led to its avoidance as far as
possible; but those who, in England, may have accustomed themselves to
flannel, will find the advantage of persevering to wear it, provided it
is so light as not to excite perspiration. So equipped for active
exercise, exposure to the sun, however hot, may be regarded without
apprehension, provided the limbs are in motion and the body in ordinary
health; but the instinct of all oriental races has taught the necessity
of protecting the head, and European ingenuity has not failed to devise
expedients for this all-important object.
[Footnote 1: "Man not being created an aquatic animal, his skin cannot
with impunity be exposed to perpetual moisture, whether directly applied
or arising from perspiration retained by dress. The importance to health
of keeping the skin _dry_ does not appear to have hitherto received due
attention."--PICKERING, _Races of Man_, &c., ch. xliv.]
From what has been said, it will be apparent that, compared with
continental India, the securities for health in Ceylon are greatly in
favour of the island. As to the formidable diseases which are common to
both, their occurrence in either is characterised by the same appalling
manifestations: dysentery fastens, with all its fearful concomitants, on
the unwary and incautious; and cholera, with its dark horrors, sweeps
mysteriously across neglected districts, exacting its hecatombs. But the
visitation and ravages of both are somewhat under control, and the
experience bequeathed by each gloomy visitation has added to the
facilities for checking its recurrence.[1]
[Footnote 1: "It is worthy of remark, that although all the troops in
Ceylon have occasionally, but at rare intervals; suffered severely from
cholera, the disease has in very few instances attacked the officers; or
indeed Europeans in the same grade of life. This is one important
difference to be borne in mind when estimating the comparative risk of
life in India and Ceylon. It must be due to the difference in comforts
and quarters, or more particularly to the exemption from night duty, by
far the most trying of the soldiers' hardships. The small mortality
amongst the officers of European regiments in Ceylon is very
remarkable."--_Note_ by Dr. CAMERON, Army Med. Staff.]
In some of the disorders incidental to the climate, and the treatment of
ulcerations caused by the wounds of the mosquitoes and leeches, the
native Singhalese have a deservedly high reputation; but their practice,
when it depends on specifics, is too empirical to be safely relied on;
and their traditional skill, though boasting a well authenticated
antiquity, achieves few triumphs in competition with the soberer
discipline of European science.
CHAP. III.
VEGETATION.--TREES AND PLANTS.
Although the luxuriant vegetation of Ceylon has at all times been the
theme of enthusiastic admiration, its flora does not probably exceed
3000 phaenogamic plants[1]; and notwithstanding that it has a number of
endemic species, and a few genera, which are not found on the great
Indian peninsula, still its botanical features may be described as those
characteristic of the southern regions of Hindustan and the Dekkan. The
result of some recent experiments has, however, afforded a curious
confirmation of the opinion ventured by Dr. Gardner, that, regarding its
botany geographically, Ceylon exhibits more of the Malayan flora and
that of the Eastern Archipelago, than of any portion of India to the
west of it. Two plants peculiar to Malacca, the nutmeg and the
mangustin, have been attempted, but unsuccessfully, to be cultivated in
Bengal; but in Ceylon the former has been reared near Colombo with such
singular success that its produce now begins to figure in the exports of
the island;--and mangustins, which, ten years ago, were exhibited as
curiosities from a single tree in the old Botanic Garden at Colombo, are
found to thrive readily, and they occasionally appear at table,
rivalling in their wonderful delicacy of flavour those which have
heretofore been regarded as peculiar to the Straits.
[Footnote 1: The prolific vegetation of the island is likely to cause
exaggeration in the estimate of its variety. Dr. Gardner, shortly after
his appointment as superintendent of the Botanic Garden at Kandy, in
writing to Sir W. Hooker, conjectured that the Ceylon flora might extend
to 4000 or 5000 species. But from a recent _Report_ of the present
curator, Mr. Thwaites, it appears that the indigenous phaenogamic plants
discovered up to August, 1856, was 2670; of which 2025 were
dicotyledonous, and 644 monocotyledonous flowering plants, besides 247
ferns and lycopods. When it is considered that this is nearly double the
indigenous flora of England, and little under _one thirtieth_ of the
entire number of plants hitherto described over the world, the botanical
richness of Ceylon, in proportion to its area, must be regarded as equal
to that of any portion of the globe.]
Up to the present time the botany of Ceylon has been imperfectly
submitted to scientific scrutiny. Linnaeus, in 1747, prepared his _Flora
Zeylanica_, from specimens collected by Hermann, which had previously
constituted the materials of the _Thesaurus Zeylanicus_ of Burman and
now form part of the herbarium in the British Museum. A succession of
industrious explorers have been since engaged in following up the
investigation[1]; but, with the exception of an imperfect and
unsatisfactory catalogue by Moon, no enumeration of Ceylon plants has
yet been published. Dr. Gardner had made some progress with a Singhalese
Flora, when his death took place in 1849, an event which threw the task
on other hands, and has postponed its completion for years.[2]
[Footnote 1: Amongst the collections of Ceylon plants deposited in the
Hookerian Herbarium, are those made by General and Mrs. Walker, by Major
Champion (who left the island in 1848), and by Mr. Thwaites, who
succeeded Dr. Gardner in charge of the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kandy.
Moon, who had previously held that appointment, left extensive
collections in the herbarium at Peradenia which have been lately
increased by his successors; and Macrae, who was employed by the
Horticultural Society of London, has enriched their museum with Ceylon
plants. Some admirable letters of Mrs. Walker are printed in HOOKER'S
_Companion to the Botanical Magazine_. They include an excellent account
of the vegetation of Ceylon.]
[Footnote 2: Dr. Gardner, in 1848, drew up a short paper containing
_Some Remarks on the Flora of Ceylon_, which was printed in the appendix
to LEE'S _Translation of Ribeyro_: to this essay, and to his personal
communications during frequent journeys, I am indebted for many facts
incorporated in the following pages.]
From the identity of position and climate, and the apparent similarity
of soil between Ceylon and the southern extremity of the Indian
peninsula, a corresponding agreement might be expected between their
vegetable productions: and accordingly in its aspects and subdivisions
Ceylon participates in those distinctive features which the monsoons
have imparted respectively to the opposite shores of Hindustan. The
western coast being exposed to the milder influence of the south-west
wind, shows luxuriant vegetation, the result of its humid and temperate
climate; whilst the eastern, like Coromandel, has a comparatively dry
and arid aspect, produced by the hot winds which blow for half the year.
The littoral vegetation of the seaborde exhibits little variation from
that common throughout the Eastern archipelago; but it wants the
_Phoenix paludosa_[1], a dwarf date-palm, which literally covers the
islands of the Sunderbunds at the delta of the Ganges. A dense growth of
mangroves[2] occupies the shore, beneath whose overarching roots the
ripple of the sea washes unseen over the muddy beach.
[Footnote 1: Drs. HOOKER and THOMSON, in their _Introductory Essay to
the Flora of India_, speaking of Ceylon, state that the _Nipa fruticans_
(another characteristic palm of the Gangetic delta) and _Cycads_ are
also wanting there, but both these exist (the former abundantly), though
perhaps not alluded to in any work on Ceylon botany to which those
authors had access. In connection with this subject it may be mentioned,
as a fact which is much to be regretted, that, although botanists have
been appointed to the superintendence of the Botanic Gardens at Kandy,
information regarding the vegetation of the island is scarcely
obtainable without extreme trouble and reference to papers scattered
through innumerable periodicals. That the majority of Ceylon plants are
already known to science is owing to the coincidence of their being also
natives of India, whence they have been described; but there has been no
recent attempt on the part of colonial or European botanists even to
throw into a useful form the already published descriptions of the
commoner plants of the island. Such a work would be the first step to a
Singhalese Flora. The preparation of such a compendium would seem, to
belong to the duties of the colonial botanist, and as such it was an
object of especial solicitude to the late superintendent, Dr. Gardner.
But the heterogeneous duties imposed upon the person holding his office
(the evils arising from which are elsewhere alluded to), have hitherto
been insuperable obstacles to the attainment of this object, as they
have also been to the preparation of a systematic account of the general
features of Ceylon vegetation. Such a work is strongly felt to be a
desideratum by numbers of intelligent persons in Ceylon, who are not
accomplished botanists, but who are anxious to acquire accurate ideas as
to the aspects of the flora at different elevations, different seasons,
and different quarters of the island; of the kinds of plants that
chiefly contribute to the vegetation of the coasts, the plains, and
mountains; of the general relations that subsist between them and the
flora of the Carnatic, Malabar, and the Malay archipelago; and of the
more useful plants in science, arts, medicine, and commerce.
To render such a work (however elementary) at once accurate as well as
interesting, would require sound scientific knowledge; and, however
skilfully and popularly written, there would still be portions somewhat
difficult of comprehension to the ordinary reader; but curiosity would
be stimulated by the very occurrence of difficulty, and thus an impulse
might be given to the acquisition of rudimentary botany, which would
eventually enable the inquirer to contribute his quota to the natural
history of Ceylon.
P.S. Since the foregoing was written, Mr. Thwaites has announced the
early publication of a new work on Ceylon plants, to be entitled
_Enumeratio Plantarum Zeylaniae: with Descriptions of the new and little
known genera and species_, and observations on their habits, uses, &c.
In the Identification of the species Mr. Thwaites is to be assisted by
Dr. Hooker, F.R.S.; and from their conjoint labours we may at last hope
for a production worthy of the subject.]
[Footnote 2: Rhizophera Candelaria, Kandelia Rheedei, Bruguiera
gymnorhiza.]
Retiring from the strand, there are groups of _Sonneratia[1], Avicennia,
Heritiera_, and _Pandanus_; the latter with a stem like a dwarf palm,
round which the serrated leaves ascend in spiral convolutions till they
terminate in a pendulous crown, from which drop the amber clusters of
beautiful but uneatable fruit, with a close resemblance in shape and
colour to that of the pineapple, from which, and from the peculiar
arrangement of the leaves, the plant has acquired its name of the
Screw-pine.
[Footnote 1: At a meeting of the Entomological Society in 1842, Dr.
Templeton sent, for the use of the members, many thin slices of
substance to replace cork-wood as a lining for insect cases and drawers.
Along with the soft wood he sent the following notice:--"In this country
(he writes from Colombo, Ceylon, May 19, 1842), along the marshy banks
of the large rivers, grows a very large handsome tree, named _Sonneratia
acida_, by the younger Linnaeus: its roots spread far and wide through
the soft moist earth, and at various distances along send up most
extraordinary long spindle-shaped excrescences four or five feet above
the surface. Of these Sir James Edward Smith remarks 'what these
horn-shaped excrescences are which occupy the soil at some distance from
the base of the tree from a span to a foot in length and of a corky
substance, as described by Rumphins, we can offer no conjecture.' Most
curious things (remarks Dr. Templeton) they are; they all spring very
narrow from the root, expand as they rise, and then become gradually
attenuated, occasionally forking, but never throwing out shoots or
leaves, or in any respect resembling the parent root or wood. They are
firm and close in their texture, nearly devoid of fibrous structure, and
take a moderate polish when cut with a sharp instrument; but for lining
insect boxes and making setting-boards they have no equal in the world.
The finest pin passes in with delightful ease and smoothness, and is
held firmly and tightly so that there is no risk of the insects becoming
disengaged. With a fine saw I form them into little boards and then
smooth them with a sharp case knife, but the London veneering-mills
would turn them out fit for immediate use, without any necessity for
more than a touch of fine glass-paper. Some of my pigmy boards are two
feet long by three and a half inches wide, which is more than sufficient
for our purpose, and to me they have proved a vast acquisition. The
natives call them 'Kirilimow,' the latter syllable signifying
root"--TEMPLETON, _Trans. Ent. Soc._ vol. iii. p. 302.]
A little further inland, the sandy plains are covered by a thorny
jungle, the plants of which are the same as those of the Carnatic, the
climate being alike; and wherever man has encroached on the solitude,
groves of coco-nut palms mark the vicinity of his habitations.
Remote from the sea, the level country of the north has a flora almost
identical with that of Coromandel; but the arid nature of the Ceylon
soil, and its drier atmosphere, is attested by the greater proportion of
euphorbias and fleshy shrubs, as well as by the wiry and stunted nature
of the trees, their smaller leaves and thorny stems and branches.[1]
[Footnote 1: Dr. Gardner.]
Conspicuous amongst them are acacias of many kinds; _Cassia fistula_ the
wood apple (_Feronia elephantum_), and the mustard tree of Scripture
(_Salvadora Persica_), which extends from Ceylon to the Holy Land. The
margosa (_Azadirachta Indica_), the satin wood, the Ceylon oak, and the
tamarind and ebony, are examples of the larger trees; and in the extreme
north and west the Palmyra palm takes the place of the coco-nut, and not
only lines the shore, but fills the landscape on every side with its
shady and prolific groves.
Proceeding southward on the western coast, the acacias disappear, and
the greater profusion of vegetation, the taller growth of the timber,
and the darker tinge of the foliage, all attest the influence of the
increased moisture both from the rivers and the rains. The brilliant
_Ixoras, Erythrinas, Buteas, Jonesias, Hibiscus_, and a variety of
flowering shrubs of similar beauty, enliven the forests with their
splendour; and the seeds of the cinnamon, carried by the birds from the
cultivated gardens near the coasts, have germinated in the sandy soil,
and diversify the woods with the fresh verdure of its polished leaves
and delicately-tinted shoots. It is to be found universally to a
considerable height in the lower range of hills, and thither the Chalias
were accustomed to resort to cut and peel it, a task which was imposed
on them as a feudal service by the native sovereign, who paid an annual
tribute in prepared cinnamon to the Dutch, and to the present time this
branch of the trade in the article continues, but divested of its
compulsory character.
The Dutch, in like manner, maintained, during the entire period of their
rule, an extensive commerce in pepper worts, which still festoon the
forest, but the export has almost ceased from Ceylon. Along with these
the trunks of the larger trees are profusely covered with other delicate
creepers, chiefly Convolvuli and Ipomoeas; and the pitcher-plant
(_Nepenthes distillatoria_) lures the passer-by to halt and conjecture
the probable uses of the curious mechanism, by means of which it distils
a quantity of limpid fluid into the vegetable vases at the extremity of
its leaves. The Orchideae suspend their pendulous flowers from the angles
of branches, whilst the bare roots and the lower part of the stem are
occasionally covered with fungi of the most gaudy colours, bright red,
yellow, and purple.
Of the east side of the island the botany has never yet been examined by
any scientific resident, but the productions of the hill country have
been largely explored, and present features altogether distinct from
those of the plains. For the first two or three thousand feet the
dissimilarity is less perceptible to an unscientific eye, but as we
ascend, the difference becomes apparent in the larger size of the
leaves, and the nearly uniform colour of the foliage, except where the
scarlet shoots of the ironwood tree (_Mesua ferrea_) seem, like flowers
in their blood-red hue. Here the broad leaves of the wild plantains
(_Musa textilis_) penetrate the soil among the broken rocks; and in
moist spots the graceful bamboo flourishes in groups, whose feathery
foliage waves like the plumes of the ostrich.[1] It is at these
elevations that the sameness of the scenery is diversified by the grassy
patenas before alluded to[2], which, in their aspect, though not their
extent, may be called the Savannahs of Ceylon. Here peaches, cherries,
and other European fruit trees, grow freely; but they become evergreens
in this summer climate, and, exhausted by perennial excitement, and
deprived of their winter repose, they refuse to ripen their fruit.[3] A
similar failure was discovered in some European vines, which were
cultivated at Jaffna; but Mr. Dyke, the government agent, in whose
garden they grew, conceiving that the activity of the plants might be
equally checked by exposing them to an extreme of warmth, as by
subjecting them to cold, tried, with perfect success, the experiment of
laying bare the roots in the strongest heat of the sun. The result
verified his conjecture. The circulation of the sap was arrested, the
vines obtained the needful repose, and the grapes, which before had
fallen almost unformed from the tree, are now brought to thorough
maturity, though inferior in flavour to those produced at home.[4]
[Footnote 1: In the Malayan peninsula the bamboo has been converted into
an instrument of natural music, by perforating it with holes through
which the wind is permitted to sigh; and the effect is described as
perfectly charming. Mr. Logan, who in 1847 visited Naning; contiguous to
the frontier of the European settlement of Malacca, on approaching the
village of Kandang, was surprised by hearing "the most melodious sounds,
some soft and liquid like the notes of a flute, and others deep and full
like the tones of an organ. They were sometimes low, interrupted, or
even single, and presently they would swell into a grand burst of
mingled melody. On drawing near to a clump of trees; above the branches
of which waved a slender bamboo about forty feet in length, he found
that the musical tones issued from it, and were caused by the breeze
passing through perforations in the stem; the instrument thus formed is
called by the natives the _bulu perindu_, or plaintive bamboo." Those
which Mr. Logan saw had a slit in each joint, so that each stem
possessed fourteen or twenty notes.]
[Footnote 2: See _ante_, p. 24.]
[Footnote 3: The apple-tree in the Peradenia Gardens seems not only to
have become an evergreen but to have changed its character in another
particular; for it is found to send out numerous runners under ground,
which continually rise into small stems and form a growth of shrub-like
plants around the parent tree.]
[Footnote 4: An equally successful experiment, to give the vine an
artificial winter by baring the roots, is recorded by Mr. BALLARD, of
Bombay, in the _Transactions of the Agric. and Hortic. Society of
India_, under date 24th May,1824. Calcutta. 1850. Vol. i. p. 96.]
The tea plant has been raised with complete success in the hills on the
estate of the Messrs. Worms, at Rothschild, in Pusilawa[1]; but the want
of any skilful manipulators to collect and prepare the leaves, renders
it hopeless to attempt any experiment on a large scale, until assistance
can be secured from China, to conduct the preparation.
[Footnote 1: The cultivation of tea was attempted by the Dutch, but
without success.]
Still ascending, at an elevation of 6500 feet, as we approach the
mountain plateau of Neuera-ellia, the dimensions of the trees again
diminish, the stems and branches are covered with orchideae and mosses,
and around them spring up herbaceous plants and balsams, with here and
there broad expanses covered with _Acanthaceae_, whose seeds are the
favourite food of the jungle fowl, which are always in perfection during
the ripening of the Nilloo.[1] It is in these regions that the
tree-ferns (_Alsophila gigantea_) rise from the damp hollows, and carry
their gracefully plumed heads sometimes to the height of twenty feet.
[Footnote 1: There are said to be fourteen species of the Nilloo
(_Strobilanthes_) in Ceylon. They form a complete under-growth in the
forest five or six feet in height, and sometimes extending for miles.
When in bloom, their red and blue flowers are a singularly beautiful
feature in the landscape, and are eagerly searched by the honey bees.
Some species are said to flower only once in five, seven, or nine years;
and after ripening their seed they die. This is one reason assigned for
the sudden appearance of the rats, which have been elsewhere alluded to
(vol. i. p. 149, ii. p. 234) as invading the coffee estates, when
deprived of their ordinary food by the decay of the nilloo. It has been
observed that the jungle fowl, after feeding on the nilloo, have their
eyes so affected by it, as to be partially blinded, and permit
themselves to be taken by the hand. Are the seeds of this plant narcotic
like some of the _Solanaceaae_? or do they cause dilatation of the pupil,
like those of the _Atropa Belladonna_?]
At length in the loftiest range of the hills the Rhododendrons are
discovered; no longer delicate bushes, as in Europe, but timber trees of
considerable height, and corresponding dimensions, and every branch
covered with a blaze of crimson flowers. In these forests are also to be
met with some species of _Michelia_, the Indian representatives of the
Magnolias of North America, several arboreous _myrtaceae_ and
_ternstromiaceae_, the most common of which is the camelia-like _Gordonia
Ceylanica_.[1] These and _Vaccinia, Gaultheria, Symploci, Goughia_, and
_Gomphandra_, establish the affinity between the vegetation of this
region and that of the Malabar ranges, the Khasia and Lower Himalaya.[2]
[Footnote 1: Dr. Gardner.]
[Footnote 2: _Introduction to the Flora Indica_ of Dr. HOOKER and Dr.
THOMSON, p. 120. London, 1855.]
Generally speaking, the timber on the high mountains is of little value
for oeconomic purposes. Though of considerable dimensions, it is too
unsubstantial to be serviceable for building or domestic uses; and
perhaps, it may be regarded as an evidence of its perishable nature,
that dead timber is rarely to be seen in any quantity encumbering the
ground, in the heart of the deepest forests. It seems to go to dust
almost immediately after its fall, and although the process of
destruction is infinitely accelerated by the ravages of insects,
especially the white ants (_termites_) and beetles, which instantly
seize on every fallen branch: still, one would expect that the harder
woods would, more or less, resist their attacks till natural
decomposition should have facilitated their operations and would thus
exhibit more leisurely the progress of decay. But here decay is
comparatively instantaneous, and it is seldom that fallen timber is to
be found, except in the last stage of conversion into dust.
Some of the trees in the higher ranges are remarkable for the prodigious
height to which they struggle upwards from the dense jungle towards the
air and light; and one of the most curious of nature's devices, is the
singular expedient by which some families of these very tall and
top-heavy trees throw out buttresses like walls of wood, to support
themselves from beneath. Five or six of these buttresses project like
rays from all sides of the trunk: they are from six to twelve inches
thick, and advance from five to fifteen feet outward; and as they
ascend, gradually sink into the hole and disappear at the height of from
ten to twenty feet from the ground. By the firm resistance which they
offer below, the trees are effectually steadied, and protected from the
leverage of the crown, by which they would otherwise be uprooted. Some
of these buttresses are so smooth and flat, as almost to resemble sawn
planks.
The greatest ornaments of the forest in these higher regions are the
large flowering trees; the most striking of which is the Rhododendron,
which in Ceylon forms a forest in the mountains, and when covered with
flowers, it seems from a distance as though the hills were strewn with
vermilion. This is the principal tree on the summit of Adam's Peak, and
grows to the foot of the rock on which rests the little temple that
covers the sacred footstep on its crest. Dr. Hooker states that the
honey of its flowers is believed to be poisonous in some parts of
Sikkim; but I never heard it so regarded in Ceylon.
One of the most magnificent of the flowering trees, is the coral
tree[1], which is also the most familiar to Europeans, as the natives of
the low country and the coast, from the circumstance of its stem being
covered with thorns, plant it largely for fences, and grow it in the
vicinity of their dwellings. It derives its English name from the
resemblance which its scarlet flowers present to red coral, and as these
clothe the branches before the leaves appear, their splendour attracts
the eye from a distance, especially when lighted by the full blaze of
the sun.
[Footnote 1: _Erythrina Indica_. It belongs to the pea tribe, and must
not be confounded with the _Jatropha multifida_ which has also acquired
the name of the _coral tree_. Its wood is so light and spongy, that it
is used in Ceylon to form corks for preserve jars; and both there and at
Madras the natives make from it models of their implements of husbandry,
and of their sailing boats and canoes.]
The Murutu[1] is another flowering tree which may vie with the Coral,
the Rhododendron, or the Asoca, the favourite of Sanskrit poetry. It
grows to a considerable height, especially in damp places and the
neighbourhood of streams, and pains have been taken, from appreciation
of its attractions, to plant it by the road side and in other
conspicuous positions. From the points of the branches panicles are
produced, two or three feet in length, composed of flowers, each the
size of a rose and of all shades, from a delicate pink to the deepest
purple. It abounds in the south-west of the island.
[Footnote 1: Lagerstroemia Reginae.]
The magnificent Asoca[1] is found in the interior, and is cultivated,
though not successfully, in the Peradenia Garden, and in that attached
to Elie House at Colombo. But in Toompane, and in the valley of
Doombera, its loveliness vindicates all the praises bestowed on it by
the poets of the East. Its orange and crimson flowers grow in graceful
racemes, and the Singhalese, who have given the rhododendron the
pre-eminent appellation of the "great red flower," (_maha-rat-mal_,)
have called the Asoca the _diya-rat-mal_ to indicate its partiality for
"moisture," combined with its prevailing hue.
[Footnote 1: Jonesia Asoca.]
But the tree which will most frequently attract the eye of the
traveller, is the kattoo-imbul of the Singhalese[1], one of which
produces the silky cotton which, though incapable of being spun, owing
to the shortness of its delicate fibre, makes the most luxurious
stuffing for sofas and pillows. It is a tall tree covered with
formidable thorns; and being deciduous, the fresh leaves, like those of
the coral tree, do not make their appearance till after the crimson
flowers have covered the branches with their bright tulip-like petals.
So profuse are these gorgeous flowers, that when they fall, the ground
for many roods on all sides is a carpet of scarlet. They are succeeded
by large oblong pods, in which the black polished seeds are deeply
embedded in the floss which is so much prized by the natives. The trunk
is of an unusually bright green colour, and the branches issue
horizontally from the stem, in whorls of threes with a distance of six
or seven feet between each whorl.
[Footnote 1: _Bombax Malabaricus_. As the genus Bombax is confined to
tropical America, the German botanists, Schott and Endlicher, have
assigned to the imbul its ancient Sanskrit name, and described it as
_Salmalia Malabarica_.]
Near every Buddhist temple the priests plant the Iron tree (_Messua
ferrea_)[1] for the sake of its flowers, with which they decorate the
images of Buddha. They resemble white roses, and form a singular
contrast with the buds and shoots of the tree, which are of the deepest
crimson. Along with its flowers the priests use likewise those of the
Champac (_Michelia Champaca_), belonging to the family of magnoliaceae.
They have a pale yellow tint, with the sweet oppressive perfume which is
celebrated in the poetry of the Hindus. From the wood of the champac the
images of Buddha are carved for the temples.
[Footnote 1: Dr. Gardner supposed the ironwood tree of Ceylon to have
been confounded with the _Messua ferrea_ of Linnaeus. He asserted it to
be a distinct species, and assigned to it the well-known Singhalese name
"_nagaha_," or _iron-wood tree_. But this conjecture has since proved
erroneous.]
The celebrated Upas tree of Java (_Antiaris toxicaria_) which has been
the subject of so many romances, exploded by Dr. Horsfield[1], was
supposed by Dr. Gardner to exist in Ceylon, but more recent scrutiny has
shown that what he mistook for it, was an allied species, the _A.
saccidora_, which grows at Kornegalle, and in other parts of the island;
and is scarcely less remarkable, though for very different
characteristics. The Ceylon species was first brought to public notice
by E. Rawdon Power, Esq., government agent of the Kandyan province, who
sent specimens of it, and of the sacks which it furnishes, to the branch
of the Asiatic Society at Colombo. It is known to the Singhalese by the
name of "ritigaha," and is identical with the _Lepurandra saccidora_,
from which the natives of Coorg, like those of Ceylon, manufacture an
ingenious substitute for sacks by a process which is described by Mr.
Nimmo.[2] "A branch is cut corresponding to the length and breadth of
the bag required, it is soaked and then beaten with clubs till the liber
separates from the timber. This done, the sack which is thus formed out
of the bark is turned inside out, and drawn downwards to permit the wood
to be sawn off, leaving a portion to form the bottom which is kept
firmly in its place by the natural attachment of the bark."
[Footnote 1: The vegetable poisons, the use of which is ascribed to the
Singhalese, are chiefly the seeds of the _Datura_, which act as a
powerful narcotic, and those of the _Croton tiglium_, the excessive
effect of which ends in death. The root of the _Nerium odorum_ is
equally fatal, as is likewise the exquisitely beautiful _Gloriosa
superba_, whose brilliant flowers festoon the jungle in the plains of
the low country. See Bennett's account of the _Antiaris_, in HORSFIELD'S
_Plantae Javanicae_.]
[Footnote 2: Catalogue of Bombay Plants, p. 193. The process in Ceylon
is thus described in Sir W. HOOKER'S _Report on the Vegetable Products_
exhibited in Paris in 1855: "The trees chosen for the purpose measure
above a foot in diameter. The felled trunks are cut into lengths, and
the bark is well beaten with a stone or a club till the parenchymatous
part comes off, leaving only the inner bark attached to the wood; which
is thus easily drawn out by the hand. The bark thus obtained is fibrous
and tough, resembling a woven fabric: it is sewn at one end into a sack,
which is filled with sand, and dried in the sun."]
As we descend the hills the banyans[1] and a variety of figs make their
appearance. They are the Thugs of the vegetable world, for although not
necessarily epiphytic, it may be said that in point of fact no single
plant comes to perfection, or acquires even partial development, without
the destruction of some other on which to fix itself as its supporter.
The family generally make their first appearance as slender roots
hanging from the crown or trunk of some other tree, generally a palm,
among the moist bases of whose leaves the seed carried thither by some
bird which had fed upon the fig, begins to germinate. This root
branching as it descends, envelopes the trunk of the supporting tree
with a network of wood, and at length penetrating the ground, attains
the dimensions of a stem. But unlike a _stem_ it throws out no buds,
leaves, or flowers; the true stem, with its branches, its foliage, and
fruit, springs upwards from the crown of the tree whence the root is
seen descending; and from it issue the pendulous rootlets, which, on
reaching the earth, fix themselves firmly and form the marvellous growth
for which the banyan is so celebrated.[2] In the depth of this grove,
the original tree is incarcerated till, literally strangled by the folds
and weight of its resistless companion, it dies and leaves the fig in
undisturbed possession of its place. It is not unusual in the forest to
find a fig-tree which had been thus upborne till it became a standard,
now forming a hollow cylinder, the centre of which was once filled by
the sustaining tree: but the empty walls form a circular network of
interlaced roots and branches; firmly agglutinated under pressure, and
admitting the light through interstices that look like loopholes in a
turret.
[Footnote 1: Ficus Indica.]
[Footnote 2: I do not remember to have seen the following passage from
Pliny referred to as the original of Milton's description of this
marvellous tree:--
"Ipsa se serens, vastis diffunditur ramis: quorum imi adeo in terram
curvantur, ut annuo spatio infigantur, novamque sibi _propaginem faciant
circa parentem in orbem._ Intra septem eam _aestivant pastores_, opacam
pariter et munitam vallo arboris, decora specie subter intuenti,
proculve, _fornicato_ arbore. Foliorum latitudo _peltae effigiem
Amazonicae_ habet," &c.--PLINY, 1. xii. c. 11.
"The fig-tree--not that kind for fruit renowned,
But such as at this day to Indians known,
In Malabar or Dekkan spreads her arms,
Branching so broad and long, that on the ground
The bended twigs take root, and _daughters grow
About the mother tree: a pillar'd_ shade
High over arched and echoing walks between.
There oft the Indian herdsman, shunning heat,
Shelters in cool and _tends his pasturing flocks_
At loop-holes cut through thickest shade. These leaves
They gathered; broad as _Amazonian targe:_
And with what skill they had, together sewed
To gird their waist," &c.
_Par. Lost_, ix. 1100.
Pliny's description is borrowed, with some embellishments, from
THEOPHRASTUS _de. Nat. Plant._ l. i. 7. iv. 4.]
[Illustration: MARRIAGE OF THE FIG-TREE AND THE PALM.]
Another species of the same genus, _F. repens,_ is a fitting
representative of the English ivy, and is constantly to be seen
clambering over rocks, turning through heaps of stones, or ascending
some tall tree to the height of thirty or forty feet, while the
thickness of its own stem does not exceed a quarter of an inch.
The facility with which the seeds of the fig-tree take root where there
is a sufficiency of moisture to permit of germination, has rendered them
formidable assailants of the ancient monuments throughout Ceylon. The
vast mounds of brickwork which constitute the remains of the Dagobas at
Anarajapoora and Pollanarrua are covered densely with trees, among which
the figs are always conspicuous. One, which has fixed itself on the
walls of a ruined edifice at the latter city, forms one of the most
remarkable objects of the place--its roots streaming downwards over the
walls as if their wood had once been fluid, follow every sinuosity of
the building and terraces till they reach the earth.
[Illustration: A FIG TREE ON THE RUINS OF POLLANARRUA.]
To this genus belongs the Sacred Bo-tree of the Buddhists, _Ficus
religiosa,_ which is planted close to every temple, and attracts almost
as much veneration as the statue of the god himself. At Anarajapoora is
still preserved the identical tree said to have been planted 288 years
before the Christian era.[1]
[Footnote 1: For a memoir of this celebrated tree, see the account of
Anarajapoora, Vol. II. p. 10.]
Although the India-rubber tree (_F. elastica_) is not indigenous to
Ceylon, it is now very widely diffused over the island. It is remarkable
for the pink leathery covering which envelopes the leaves before
expansion, and for the delicate tracing of the nerves which run in
equi-distant rows at right angles from the mid-rib. But its most
striking feature is the exposure of its roots, masses of which appear
above ground, extending on all sides from the base, and writhing over
the surface in undulations--
"Like snakes in wild festoon,
In ramous wrestlings interlaced,
A forest Laocoon."[1]
[Footnote 1: HOOD's poem of _The Elm Tree._]
So strong, in fact, is the resemblance, that the villagers give it the
name of the "Snake-tree." One, which grows close to Cotta, at the Church
Missionary establishment within a few miles of Colombo, affords a
remarkable illustration of this peculiarity.
[Illustration: THE SNAKE-TREE.]
There is an avenue of these trees leading to the Gardens of Peradenia,
the roots of which meet from either side of the road, and have so
covered the surface by their agglutinated reticulations as to form a
wooden framework, the interstices of which retain the materials that
form the roadway.[1]
[Footnote 1: Mr. Ferguson of the Surveyor-General's Department, assures
me that he once measured the root of a small wild fig-tree, growing in a
patena at Hewahette, and found it upwards of 140 feet in length, whilst
the tree itself was not 30 feet high.]
The Kumbuk of the Singhalese (called by the Tamils Maratha-maram)[1] is
one of the noblest and most widely distributed trees in the island; it
delights in the banks of rivers and moist borders of tanks and canals;
it overshadows the stream of the Mahawelli-ganga, almost from Kandy to
the sea; and it stretches its great arms above the still water of the
lakes on the eastern side of the island.
[Footnote 1: Pentaptera tomentosa _(Rox.)_.]
One venerable patriarch of this species, which grows at Mutwal, within
three miles of Colombo, towers to so great a height above the
surrounding forests of coconut palms, that it forms a landmark for the
native boatmen, and is discernible from Negombo, more than twenty miles
distant. The circumference of its stem, as measured by Mr. W. Ferguson,
in 1850, was forty-five feet close to the earth, and seven yards at
twelve feet above the ground.
The timber, which is durable, is applied to the carving of idols for the
temples, besides being extensively used for less dignified purposes; but
it is chiefly prized for the bark, which is sold as a medicine, and, in
addition to yielding a black dye, it is so charged with calcareous
matter that its ashes, when burnt, afford a substitute for the lime
which the natives chew with their betel.
Some of the trees found in the forests of the interior are remarkable
for the curious forms in which they produce their seeds. One of these,
which sometimes grows to the height of one hundred feet without throwing
out a single branch, has been confounded with the durian of the Eastern
Archipelago, or supposed to be an allied species[1], but it differs from
it in the important particular that its fruit is not edible. The real
durian is not indigenous to Ceylon, but was brought there by the
Portuguese in the sixteenth century.[2] It has been very recently
re-introduced, and is now cultivated successfully. The native name for
the Singhalese tree, "Katu-boeda," denotes the prickles that cover its
fruit, which is as large as a coco-nut, and set with thorns each nearly
an inch in length.
[Footnote 1: It is the _Cullenia excelsa_ of WIGHT's _Icones, &c._
(761-2).]
[Footnote 2: PORCACCHI, in his _Isolario_, written in the sixteenth
century, enumerates the true durian as being then amongst the ordinary
fruit of Ceylon.--"Vi nasce anchora un frutto detto Duriano, verde et
grande come quei cocomeri, che a Venetia son chiamati angurie: in mezo
del quale trouano dentro cinque frutti de sapor molto excellente."--Lib.
iii. p. 188. Padua, A.D. 1619.]
The _Sterculia foetida,_ one of the finest and noblest of the Ceylon
forest-trees, produces from the end of its branches large bunches of
dark purple flowers of extreme richness and beauty; but emitting a
stench so intolerable as richly to entitle it to its very characteristic
botanical name. The fruit is equally remarkable, and consists of several
crimson cases of the consistency of leather, within which are enclosed a
number of black bean-like seeds: these are dispersed by the bursting of
their envelope, which splits open to liberate them when sufficiently
ripened.
The Moodilla (_Barringtonia speciosa_) is another tree which attracts
the eye of the traveller, not less from the remarkably shaped fruit
which it bears than from the contrast between its dark glossy leaves and
the delicate flowers which they surround. The latter are white, tipped
with crimson, but the petals drop off early, and the stamens, of which
there are nearly a hundred to each flower, when they fall to the ground
might almost be mistaken for painters' brushes. The tree (as its name
implies) loves the shore of the sea, and its large quadrangular fruits,
of pyramidal form, being protected by a hard fibrous covering, are
tossed by the waves till they root themselves on the beach. It grows
freely at the mouths of the principal rivers on the west coast, and
several noble specimens of it are found near the fort of Colombo.
The Goda-kaduru, or _Strychnos nux-vomica_ is abundant in these
prodigious forests, and has obtained an European celebrity on account of
its producing the poisonous seeds from which strychnine is extracted.
Its fruit, which it exhibits in great profusion, is of the size and
colour of a small orange, within which a pulpy substance envelopes the
seeds that form the "nux-vomica" of commerce. It grows in great
luxuriance in the vicinity of the ruined tanks throughout the Wanny, and
on the west coast as far south as Negombo. It is singular that in this
genus there should be found two plants, the seeds of one being not only
harmless but wholesome, and that of the other the most formidable of
known poisons.[1] Amongst the Malabar immigrants there is a belief that
the seeds of the goda-kaduru, if habitually taken, will act as a
prophylactic against the venom of the cobra de capello; and I have been
assured that the coolies coming from the coast of India accustom
themselves to eat a single seed per day in order to acquire the desired
protection from the effects of this serpent's bite.[2]
[Footnote 1: The _tettan-cotta,_ the use of which is described in Vol.
II. Pt. ix. ch. i. p. 411, when applied by the natives to clarify muddy
water, is the seed of another species of strychnos, _S. potatorum_. The
Singhalese name is _ingini_ (_tettan-cotta_ is Tamil).]
[Footnote 2: In India, the distillers of arrack from the juice of the
coco-nut palm are said, by Roxburgh, to introduce the seeds of the
strychnus, in order to increase the intoxicating power of the spirit.]
In these forests the Euphorbia[1], which we are accustomed to see only
as a cactus-like green-house plant, attains the size and strength of a
small timber-tree; its quadrangular stem becomes circular and woody, and
its square fleshy shoots take the form of branches, or rise with a
rounded top as high as thirty feet.[2]
[Footnote 1: E. Antiquorun.]
[Footnote 2: Amongst the remarkable plants of Ceylon, there is one
concerning which a singular error has been perpetuated in botanical
works from the time of Paul Hermann, who first described it in 1687, to
the present. I mean the _kiri-anguna_ (Gymnema lactiferum), evidently a
form of the G. sylvestre, to which has been given the name of the
_Ceylon cow-tree_; and it is asserted that the natives drink its juice
as we do milk. LOUDON (_Ency. of Plants_, p. 197) says, "The milk of the
_G. lactiferum_ is used instead of the vaccine ichor, and the leaves are
employed in sauces in the room of cream." And LINDLEY, in his _Vegetable
Kingdom_, in speaking of the Asclepiads, says, "the cow plant of Ceylon,
'kiri-anguna,' yields a milk of which the Singhalese make use for food;
and its leaves are also used when boiled." Even in the _English
Cyclopaedia_ of CHARLES KNIGHT, published so lately as 1854, this error
is repeated. (See art. Cow-tree, p. 178.) But this in altogether a
mistake;--the Ceylon plant, like many others, has acquired its epithet
of _kiri_, not from the juices being susceptible of being used as a
substitute for milk, but simply from its resemblance to it in colour and
consistency. It is a creeper, found on the southern and western coasts,
and used medicinally by the natives, but never as an article of food.
The leaves, when chopped and boiled, are administered to nurses by
native practitioners, and are supposed to increase the secretion of
milk. As to its use, as stated by London, in lieu of the vaccine matter,
it is altogether erroneous. MOON, in his _Catalogue of the Plants of
Ceylon_, has accidentally mentioned the kiri-anguna twice, being misled
by the Pali synonym "kiri-hangula": they are the same plant, though he
has inserted them as different, p. 21.]
But that which arrests the attention even of an indifferent passer-by is
the endless variety and almost inconceivable size and luxuriance of the
_climbing plants and epiphytes_ which live upon the forest trees in
every part of the island. It is rare to see a single tree without its
families of dependents of this description, and on one occasion I
counted on a single prostrate stem no less than sixteen species of
Capparis, Beaumontia, Bignonia, Ipomoea, and other genera, which, in its
fall, it had brought along with it to the ground. Those which are free
from climbing plants have their higher branches and hollows occupied by
ferns and orchids, of which latter the variety is endless in Ceylon,
though the beauty of their flower is not equal to those of Brazil and
other tropical countries. In the many excursions which I made with Dr.
Gardner he added numerous species to those already known, including the
exquisite _Saccolabium guttatum_, which we came upon in the vicinity of
Bintenne, but which had before been discovered in Java and the mountains
of northern India. Its large groups of lilac flowers hung in rich
festoons from the branches as we rode under them, and caused us many an
involuntary halt to admire and secure the plants.
A rich harvest of botanical discovery still remains for the scientific
explorer of the districts south and east of Adam's Peak, whence Dr.
Gardner's successor, Mr. Thwaites, has already brought some remarkable
species. Many of the Ceylon orchids, like those of South America,
exhibit a grotesque similitude to various animals; and one, a
_Dendrobium_., which the Singhalese cultivate in the palms near their
dwelling, bears a name equivalent to the _White-pigeon flower,_ from the
resemblance which its clusters present to a group of those birds in
miniature clinging to the stem with wings at rest.
But of this order the most exquisite plant I have seen is the
_Anaectochilus setaceus_, a terrestrial orchid which is to be found about
the moist roots of the forest trees, and has drawn the attention of even
the apathetic Singhalese, among whom its singular beauty has won for it
the popular name of the Wanna Raja, or "King of the Forest." It is
common in humid and shady places a few miles removed from the sea-coast;
its flowers have no particular attraction, but its leaves are perhaps
the most exquisitely formed in the vegetable kingdom; their colour
resembles dark velvet, approaching to black, and reticulated over all
the surface with veins of ruddy gold.[1]
[Footnote 1: There is another small orchid bearing a slight resemblance
to the wanna raja, which is often found growing along with it, called by
the Singhalese iri raja, or "striped king." Its leaves are somewhat
bronzed, but they are longer and narrower than those of the wanna raja;
and, as its Singhalese name implies, it has two white stripes running
through the length of each. They are not of the same genus; the wanna
raja being the only species of _Anaectochilus_ yet found in Ceylon.]
The branches of all the lower trees and brushwood are so densely covered
with convolvuli, and similar delicate climbers of every colour, that
frequently it is difficult to discover the tree which supports them,
owing to the heaps of verdure under which it is concealed. One very
curious creeper, which always catches the eye, is the square-stemmed
vine[1], whose fleshy four-sided runners climb the highest trees, and
hang down in the most fantastic bunches. Its stem, like that of another
plant of the same genus (the _Vitis Indica_), when freshly cut, yields a
copious draught of pure tasteless fluid, and is eagerly sought after by
elephants.
[Footnote 1: Cissus edulis, _Dalz_.]
But it is the trees of older and loftier growth that exhibit the rank
luxuriance of these wonderful epiphytes in the most striking manner.
They are tormented by climbing plants of such extraordinary dimensions
that many of them exceed in diameter the girth of a man; and these
gigantic appendages are to be seen surmounting the tallest trees of the
forest, grasping their stems in firm convolutions, and then flinging
their monstrous tendrils over the larger limbs till they reach the top,
whence they descend to the ground in huge festoons, and, after including
another and another tree in their successive toils, they once more
ascend to the summit, and wind the whole into a maze of living network
as massy as if formed by the cable of a line-of-battle ship. When,
by-and-by, the trees on which this singular fabric has become suspended
give way under its weight, or sink by their own decay, the fallen trunk
speedily disappears, whilst the convolutions of climbers continue to
grow on, exhibiting one of the most marvellous and peculiar living
mounds of confusion that it is possible to fancy. Frequently one of
these creepers may be seen holding by one extremity the summit of a tall
tree, and grasping with the other an object at some distance near the
earth, between which it is strained as tight and straight as if hauled
over a block. In all probability the young tendril had been originally
fixed in this position by the wind, and retained in it till it had
gained its maturity, where it has the appearance of having been
artificially arranged as if to support a falling tree.
This peculiarity of tropical vegetation has been turned to profitable
account by the Ceylon woodmen, employed by the European planters in
felling forest trees, preparatory to the cultivation of coffee. In this
craft they are singularly expert, and far surpass the Malabar coolies,
who assist in the same operations. In steep and mountainous places where
the trees have been thus lashed together by the interlacing climbers,
the practice is to cut halfway through each stem in succession, till an
area of some acres in extent is prepared for the final overthrow. Then
severing some tall group on the eminence, and allowing it in its descent
to precipitate itself on those below, the whole expanse is in one moment
brought headlong to the ground; the falling timber forcing down those
beneath it by its weight, and dragging those behind to which it is
harnessed by its living attachments. The crash occasioned by this
startling operation is so deafeningly loud, that it is audible for two
or three miles in the clear and still atmosphere of the hills.
One monstrous creeping plant called by the Kandyans the Maha-pus-wael,
or "Great hollow climber,"[1] has pods, some of which I have seen fully
five feet long and six inches broad, with beautiful brown beans, so
large that the natives hollow them out, and carry them as tinder-boxes.
[Footnote 1: _Entada pursaetha_. The same plant, when found in lower
situations, where it wants the soil and moisture of the mountains, is so
altered in appearance that the natives call it the "heen-pus-wael;" and
even botanists have taken it for a distinct species. The beautiful
mountain region of Pusilawa, now familiar as one of the finest coffee
districts in Ceylon, in all probability takes its name from the giant
bean, "Pus-waelawa."]
Another climber of less dimensions[1], but greater luxuriance, haunts
the jungle, and often reaches the tops of the highest trees, whence it
suspends large bunches of its yellow flowers, and eventually produces
clusters of prickly pods containing greyish-coloured seeds, less than an
inch in diameter, which are so strongly coated with silex, that they are
said to strike fire like a flint.
[Footnote 1: Guilandina Bonduc.]
One other curious climber is remarkable for the vigour and vitality of
its vegetation, a faculty in which it equals, if it do not surpass, the
banyan. This is the _Cocculus cordifolius_, the "rasa-kindu" of the
Singhalese, a medicinal plant which produces the _guluncha_ of Bengal.
It is largely cultivated in Ceylon, and when it has acquired the
diameter of half an inch, it is not unusual for the natives to cut from
the main stem a portion of from twenty to thirty feet in length, leaving
the dissevered plant suspended from the branches of the tree which
sustained it. The amputation naturally serves for a time to check its
growth, but presently small rootlets, not thicker than a pack-thread,
are seen shooting downwards from the wounded end; these swing in the
wind till, reaching the ground, they attach themselves in the soil, and
form new stems, which in turn, when sufficiently grown, are cut away and
replaced by a subsequent growth. Such is its tenacity of life, that when
the Singhalese wish to grow the _rasa-kindu_, they twist several yards
of the stem into a coil of six or eight inches in diameter, and simply
hang it on the branch of a tree, where it speedily puts forth its large
heart-shaped leaves, and sends down its rootlets to the earth.
The ground too has its creepers, and some of them very curious. The most
remarkable are the ratans, belonging to the Calamus genus of palms. Of
these I have seen a specimen 250 feet long and an inch in diameter,
without a single irregularity, and no appearance of foliage other than
the bunch of feathery leaves at the extremity.
The strength of these slender plants is so extreme, that the natives
employ them with striking success in the formation of bridges across the
water-courses and ravines. One which crossed the falls of the
Mahawelliganga, in the Kotmahe range of hills, was constructed with the
scientific precision of an engineer's work. It was entirely composed of
the plant, called by the natives the "Waywel," its extremities fastened
to living trees, on the opposite sides of the ravine through which a
furious and otherwise impassable mountain torrent thundered and fell
from rock to rock with a descent of nearly 100 feet. The flooring of
this aerial bridge consisted of short splints of wood, laid
transversely, and bound in their places by thin strips of the waywel
itself. The whole structure vibrated and swayed with fearful ease, but
the coolies traversed it though heavily laden; and the European, between
whose estate and the high road it lay, rode over it daily without
dismounting.
Another class of trees which excites the astonishment of an European,
are those whose stems are protected, as high as cattle can reach, by
thorns, which in the jungle attain a growth and size quite surprising.
One species of palm[1], the _Caryota horrida,_ often rises to a height
of fifty feet, and has a coating of thorns for about six or eight feet
from the ground, each about an inch in length, and so densely covering
the stem that the bark is barely visible.
[Footnote 1: This palm I have called a _Caryota_ on the authority of Dr.
GARDNER, and of MOON'S _Catalogue_; but I have been informed by Dr.
HOOKER and Mr. THWAITES that it is an _Areca_. The natives identify it
with the Caryota, and call it the "katu-kittul."]
A climbing plant, the "Kudu-miris" of the Singhalese[1], very common in
the hill jungles, with a diameter of three or four inches, is thickly
studded with knobs about half an inch high, and from the extremity of
each a thorn protrudes, as large and sharp as the bill of a
sparrow-hawk. It has been the custom of the Singhalese from time
immemorial, to employ the thorny trees of their forests in the
construction of defences against their enemies. The _Mahawanso_ relates,
that in the civil wars, in the reign of Prakrama-bahu in the twelfth
century, the inhabitants of the southern portion of the island
intrenched themselves against his forces behind moats filled with
thorns.[2] And at an earlier period, during the contest of Dutugaimunu
with Elala, the same authority states, that a town which he was about to
attack was "surrounded on all sides by the thorny _Dadambo creeper_
(probably Toddalia aculeata), within which was a triple hue of
fortifications, with one gate of difficult access."[3]
[Footnote 1: Toddalia aculeata.]
[Footnote 2: _Mahawanso_ ch. lxxiv.]
[Footnote 3: _Mahawanso_ ch. xxv.]
During the existence of the Kandyan kingdom as an independent state,
before its conquest by the British, the frontier forests were so
thickened and defended by dense plantations of these thorny palms and
climbers at different points, as to exhibit a natural fortification
impregnable to the feeble tribes on the other side, and at each pass
which led to the level country, movable gates, formed of the same
formidable thorny beams, were suspended as an ample security against the
incursions of the naked and timid lowlanders.[1]
[Footnote 1: The kings of Kandy maintained a regulation "that no one; on
pain of death, should presume to cut a road through the forest wider
than was sufficient for one person to pass."--WOLF'S _Life and
Adventures_, p. 308.]
The pasture grounds throughout the vicinity of Jaffna abound in a low
shrub called the Buffalo-thorn[1], the black twigs of which are beset at
every joint by a pair of thorns, set opposite each other like the horns
of an ox, as sharp as a needle, from two to three inches in length, and
thicker at the base than the stem they grow on.
[Footnote 1: _Acacia latronum._]
The _Acacia tomentosa_ is of the same genus, with thorns so large as to
be called the "_jungle-nail_" by Europeans. It is frequent in the woods
of Jaffna and Manaar, where it bears the Tamil name of _Aani mulla_, or
"elephant thorn." In some of these thorny plants, as in the _Phoberos
Goertneri, Thun._,[1] the spines grow not singly, but in branching
clusters, each point presenting a spike as sharp as a lancet; and where
these formidable shrubs abound they render the forest absolutely
impassable, even to the elephant and to animals of great size and force.
[Footnote 1: Mr. Wm. Ferguson writes to me, "This is the famous
_Katu-kurundu_, or 'thoray cinnamon,' of the Singhalese, figured and
described by Gaertner as the _Limonia pusilla_, which after a great deal
of labour and research I think I have identified as the _Phoberos
macrophyllus_" (W. and A. Prod. p. 30). Thunberg alludes to it
(_Travels_, vol. iv.)--"Why the Singhalese have called it a cinnamon, I
do not know, unless from some fancied similarity in its seeds to those
of the cinnamon laurel."]
The family of trees which, from their singularity as well as their
beauty, most attract the eye of the traveller in the forests of Ceylon,
are the palms, which occur in rich profusion, although, of upwards of
six hundred species which are found in other countries, not more than
ten or twelve are indigenous to the island.[1] At the head of these is
the coco-nut, every particle of whose substance, stem, leaves, and
fruit, the Singhalese turn to so many accounts, that one of their
favourite topics to a stranger is to enumerate the _hundred_ uses to
which they tell us this invaluable tree is applied.[2]
[Footnote 1: Mr. Thwaites has enumerated fifteen species (including the
coco-nut, and excluding the _Nipa fruticans_, which more properly
belongs to the family of screw-pines): viz. Areca, 4; Caryota, 1;
Calamus, 5; Borassus, 1; Corypha, 1; Phoenix, 2; Cocos, 1.]
[Footnote 2: The following are only a few of the countless uses of this
invaluable tree. The _leaves_, for roofing, for mats, for baskets,
torches or chules, fuel, brooms, fodder for cattle, manure. The _stem of
the leaf_, for fences, for pingoes (or yokes) for carrying burthens on
the shoulders, for fishing-rods, and innumerable domestic utensils. The
_cabbage_ or cluster of unexpended leaves, for pickles and preserves.
The _sap_ for _toddy_, for distilling arrack, and for making vinegar,
and sugar. The _unformed nut_, for medicine and sweetmeats. The _young
nut_ and its milk, for drinking, for dessert; the _green husk_ for
preserves. The _nut_, for eating, for curry, for milk, for cooking. The
_oil_, for rheumatism, for anointing the hair, for soap, for candles,
for light; and the _poonak_, or refuse of the nut after expressing the
oil, for cattle and poultry. The _shell of the nut_, for drinking cups,
charcoal, tooth-powder, spoons, medicine, hookahs, beads, bottles, and
knife-handles. The _coir_, or fibre which envelopes the shell within the
outer husk, for mattresses, cushions, ropes, cables, cordage, canvass,
fishing-nets, fuel, brushes, oakum, and floor mats. The _trunk_, for
rafters, laths, railing, boats, troughs, furniture, firewood; and when
very young, the first shoots, or cabbage, as a vegetable for the table.
The entire list, with a Singhalese enthusiast, is an interminable
narration of the virtues of his favourite tree.]
The most majestic and wonderful of the palm tribe is the _talpat_ or
_talipat_[1], the stem of which sometimes attains the height of 100
feet, and each of its enormous fan-like leaves, when laid upon the
ground, will form a semicircle of 16 feet in diameter, and cover an area
of nearly 200 superficial feet. The tree flowers but once, and dies; and
the natives firmly believe that the bursting of the shadix is
accompanied by a loud explosion. The leaves alone are converted by the
Singhalese to purposes of utility. Of them they form coverings for their
houses, and portable tents of a rude but effective character; and on
occasions of ceremony, each chief and headman on walking abroad is
attended by a follower, who holds above his head an
elaborately-ornamented fan, formed from a single leaf of the talpat.
[Footnote 1: Corypha umbraculifera, _Linn._]
But the most interesting use to which they are applied is as substitutes
for paper, both for books and for ordinary purposes. In the preparation
of _olas_, which is the term applied to them when so employed, the
leaves are taken whilst still tender, and, after separating the central
ribs, they are cut into strips and boiled in spring water. They are
dried first in the shade, and afterwards in the sun, then made into
rolls, and kept in store, or sent to the market for sale. Before they
are fit for writing on they are subjected to a second process, called
_madema_. A smooth plank of areca-palm is tied horizontally between two
trees, each ola is then damped, and a weight being attached to one end
of it, it is drawn backwards and forwards across the edge of the wood
till the surface becomes perfectly smooth and polished; and during the
process, as the moisture dries up, it is necessary to renew it till the
effect is complete. The smoothing of a single ola will occupy from
fifteen to twenty minutes.[1]
[Footnote 1: See Vol. II. p. 528.]
The finest specimens in Ceylon are to be obtained at the Panselas, or
Buddhist monasteries; they are known as _pusk[(o]la_ and are prepared by
the Samanera priests (novices) and the students, under the
superintendence of the priests.
The raw leaves, when dried without any preparation, are called
_karak[(o]la_, and, like the leaves of the palmyra, are used only for
ordinary purposes by the Singhalese; but in the Tamil districts, where
palmyras are abundant, and talpat palms rare, the leaves of the former
are used for books as well as for letters.
The _palmyra_[1] is another invaluable palm, and one of the most
beautiful of the family. It grows in such profusion over the north of
Ceylon, and especially in the peninsula of Jaffna, as to form extensive
forests, whence its timber is exported for rafters to all parts of the
island, as well as to the opposite coast of India, where, though the
palmyra grows luxuriantly, its wood, from local causes, is too soft and
perishable to be used for any purpose requiring strength and durability,
qualities which, in the palmyra of Ceylon, are pre-eminent. To the
inhabitants of the northern provinces this invaluable tree is of the
same importance as the coco-nut palm is to the natives of the south. Its
fruit yields them food and oil; its juice "palm wine" and sugar; its
stem is the chief material of their buildings; and its leaves, besides
serving as roofs to their dwellings and fences to their farms, supply
them with matting and baskets, with head-dresses and fans, and serve as
a substitute for paper for their deeds and writings, and for the sacred
books, which contain the traditions of their faith. It has been said
with truth that a native of Jaffna, if he be contented with ordinary
doors and mud walls, may build an entire house (as he wants neither
nails nor iron work), with walls, roof, and covering from the Palmyra
palm. From this same tree he may draw his wine, make his oil, kindle his
fire, carry his water, store his food, cook his repast, and sweeten it,
if he pleases; in fact, live from day to day dependent on his palmyra
alone. Multitudes so live, and it may be safely asserted that this tree
alone furnishes one-fourth the means of sustenance for the population of
the northern provinces.
[Footnote 1: _Borassus flabelliformis_. For an account of the Palmyra,
and its cultivation in the peninsula of Jaffna, see FERGUSON'S monograph
on the _Palmyra Palm of Ceylon_, Colombo, 1850.]
The _Jaggery Palm_[1], the _Kitool_ of the Singhalese, is chiefly
cultivated in the Kandyan hills for the sake of its sap, which is drawn,
boiled down, and crystallised into a coarse brown sugar, in universal
use amongst the inhabitants of the south and west of Ceylon, who also
extract from its pith a farina scarcely inferior to sago. The black
fibre of the leaf is twisted by the Rodiyas into ropes of considerable
smoothness and tenacity. A single Kitool tree has been pointed out at
Ambogammoa, which furnished the support of a Kandyan, his wife, and
their children. A tree has been known to yield one hundred pints of
toddy within twenty-four hours.
[Footnote 1: Caryota urens.]
The _Areca_[1] _Palm_ is the invariable feature of a native garden,
being planted near the wells and water-courses, as it rejoices in
moisture. Of all the tribe it is the most graceful and delicate, rising
to the height of forty or fifty feet[2], without an inequality on its
thin polished stem, which is dark green towards the top, and sustains a
crown of feathery foliage, in the midst of which are clustered the
astringent nuts for whose sake it is carefully tended.
[Footnote 1: A. catechu.]
[Footnote 2: Mr. Ferguson measured an areca at Caltura which was
seventy-five feet high, and grew near a coco-nut which was upwards of
ninety feet. Caltura is, however, remarkable for the growth and
luxuriance of its vegetation.]
The chewing of these nuts with lime and the leaf of the betel-pepper
supplies to the people of Ceylon the same enjoyment which tobacco
affords to the inhabitants of other countries; but its use is, if
possible, more offensive, as the three articles, when combined, colour
the saliva of so deep a red that the lips and teeth appear as if covered
with blood. Yet, in spite of this disgusting accompaniment, men and
women, old and young, from morning till night indulge in the repulsive
luxury.[1]
[Footnote 1: Dr. Elliot, of Colombo, has observed several cases of
cancer in the cheek which, from its peculiar characteristics, he has
designated the "betel-chewer's cancer."]
It is seldom, however, that we find in semi-civilised life habits
universally prevailing which have not their origin, however ultimately
they may be abused by excess, in some sense of utility. The Turk, when
he adds to the oppressive warmth of the sun by enveloping his forehead
in a cumbrous turban, or the Arab, when he increases the sultry heat by
swathing his waist in a showy girdle, may appear to act on no other
calculation than a willingness to sacrifice comfort to a love of
display; but the custom in each instance is the result of precaution--in
the former, because the head requires especial protection from
sun-strokes; and in the latter, from the fact well known to the Greeks
([Greek: eozonoi Achaioi]) that, in a warm climate, danger is to be
apprehended from a sudden chill to that particular region of the
stomach. In like manner, in the chewing of the areca-nut with its
accompaniments of lime and betel, the native of Ceylon is unconsciously
applying a specific corrective to the defective qualities of his daily
food. Never eating flesh meat by any chance, seldom or never using milk,
butter, poultry, or eggs, and tasting fish but occasionally (more rarely
in the interior of the island,) the non-azotised elements abound in
every article he consumes with the exception of the bread-fruit, the
jak, and some varieties of beans. In their indolent and feeble stomachs
these are liable to degenerate into flatulent and acrid products; but,
apparently by instinct, the whole population have adopted a simple
prophylactic. Every Singhalese carries in his waistcloth an ornamented
box of silver or brass, according to his means, enclosing a smaller one
to hold a portion of chunam (lime obtained by the calcination of shells)
whilst the larger contains the nuts of the areca and a few fresh leaves
of the betel-pepper. As inclination or habit impels, he scrapes down the
nut, which abounds in catechu, and, rolling it up with a little of the
lime in a betel-leaf, the whole is chewed, and finally swallowed, after
provoking an extreme salivation. No medical prescription could be more
judiciously compounded to effect the desired object than this practical
combination of antacid, the tonic, and carminative.
The custom is so ancient in Ceylon and in India that the Arabs and
Persians who resorted to Hindustan in the eighth and ninth centuries
carried back the habit to their own country; and Massoudi, the traveller
of Bagdad, who wrote the account of his voyages in A.D. 943, states that
the chewing of betel prevailed along the southern coast of Arabia, and
reached as far as Yemen and Mecca.[1] Ibn Batuta saw the betel plant at
Zahfar A.D. 1332, and describes it accurately as trained like a vine
over a trellis of reeds, or climbing the steins of the coco-nut palm.[2]
[Footnote 1: Massoudi, _Maraudj-al-Dzeheb_, as translated by REINAUD,
_Memoire_ _sur l'Lede_. p. 230.]
[Footnote 2: _Voyages_, &c. t. ii. p. 205.]
The leaves of the coca[1] supply the Indians of Bolivia and Peru with a
stimulant, whose use is equivalent to that of the betel-pepper among the
natives of Hindustan and the Eastern Archipelago. With an admixture of
lime, they are chewed perseveringly; but, unlike the betel, the colour
imparted by them to the saliva is greenish, instead of red. It is
curious, too, as a coincidence common to the humblest phases of
semi-civilised life, that, in the absence of coined money, the leaves of
the coca form a rude kind of currency in the Andes, as does the betel in
some parts of Ceylon, and tobacco amongst the tribes of the south-west
of Africa.[2]
[Footnote 1: Erythroxylon coca.]
[Footnote 2: Tobacco was a currency in North America when Virginia was
colonised in the early part of the 17th century; debts were contracted
and paid in it, and in every ordinary transaction tobacco answered the
purposes of coin.]
Neither catechu nor its impure equivalent, "terra japonica," is prepared
from the areca in Ceylon; but the nuts are exported in large quantities
to the Maldive Islands and to India, the produce of which they excel
both in astringency and size. The fibrous wood of the areca being at
once straight, firm, and elastic, is employed for making the pingoes
(yokes for the shoulders), by means of which the Singhalese coolie, like
the corresponding class among the ancient Egyptians and the Greeks,
carries his burdens, dividing them into portions of equal weight, one of
which is suspended from each end of the pingo. By a swaying motion
communicated to them as he starts, his own movement is facilitated,
whereas one unaccustomed to the work, by allowing the oscillation to
become irregular, finds it almost impossible to proceed with a load of
any considerable weight.[1]
[Footnote 1: The natives of Tahti use a yoke of the same form as the
Singhalese _pingo_, but made from the wood of the _Hibiscus
tiliaceus._--DARWIN, _Nat. Voy._ ch. xviii. p. 407. For a further
account of the pingo see Vol. I. Part iv. ch. viii. p. 497.]
_Timber trees_, either for export or domestic use, are not found in any
abundance except in the low country, and here the facility of floating
them to the sea, down the streams which intersect the eastern coast of
the island, has given rise to an active trade at Batticaloa and
Trincomalie. But, unfortunately, the indifference of the local officers
entrusted with the issue of licences to fell, and the imperfect control
exercised over the adventurers who embark in these speculations, has led
to a destruction of trees quite disproportionate to the timber obtained,
and utterly incompatible with the conservation of the valuable kinds.
The East India Company have had occasion to deplore the loss of their
teak forests by similar neglect and mismanagement; and it is to be hoped
that, ere too late, the attention of the Ceylon Government may be so
directed to this important subject as to lead to the appointment of
competent foresters, under whose authority and superintendence the
felling of timber may be carried on.
An interesting memoir on the timber trees of Ceylon has been prepared by
a native officer at Colombo, Adrian Mendis, of Morottu,
carpeater-moodliar to the Royal Engineers, in which he has enumerated
upwards of ninety species, which, in various parts of the island, are
employed either as timber or cabinet woods.[1] Of these, the jak, the
Kangtal of Bengal (_Artocarpus integrifolia_), is, next to the coco-nut
and Palmyra, by far the most valuable to the Singhalese; its fruit,
which sometimes attains the weight of 50 lbs., supplying food for their
table, its leaves fodder for their cattle, and its trunk timber for
every conceivable purpose both oeconomic and ornamental. The Jak tree,
as well as the Del, or wild bread-fruit, is indigenous to the forests on
the coast and in the central provinces; but, although the latter is
found in the vicinity of the villages, it does not appear to be an
object of special cultivation. The Jak, on the contrary, is planted near
every house, and forms the shade of every garden. Its wood, at first
yellow, approaches the colour of mahogany after a little exposure to the
air, and resembles it at all times in its grain and marking.
[Footnote 1: Mendis' List will be found appended to the _Ceylon
Calendar_ for 1854.]
The Del (_Artocarpus pubescens_) affords a valuable timber, not only for
architectural purposes, but for ship-building. It and the Halmalille[1]
resembling but larger than the linden tree of England, to which it is
closely allied, are the favourite building woods of the natives, and the
latter is used for carts, casks, and all household purposes, as well as
for the hulls of their boats, from the belief that It resists the attack
of the marine worms, and that some unctuous property in the wood
preserves the iron work from rust.[2]
[Footnote 1: Berry a ammonilla.]
[Footnote 2: The Masula boats, which brave the formidable surf of Madrus
are made of Halmalille, which is there called "Trincomalie wood" from
the place of exportation.]
The Teak (_Tectona grandis_), which is superior to all others, is not a
native of this island, and although largely planted, has not been
altogether successful. But the satin-wood[1], in point of size and
durability, is by far the first of the timber trees of Ceylon. For days
together I have ridden under its magnificent shade. All the forests
around Batticaloa and Trincomalie, and as far north as Jaffna, are
thickly set with this valuable tree. It grows to the height of a hundred
feet, with a rugged grey bark, small white flowers, and polished leaves,
with a somewhat unpleasant odour. Owing to the difficulty of carrying
its heavy beams, the natives only cut it near the banks of the rivers,
down which it is floated to the coast, whence large quantities are
exported to every part of the colony. The richly-coloured and feathery
pieces are used for cabinet-work, and the more ordinary logs for
building purposes, every house in the eastern province being floored and
timbered with satin-wood.
[Footnote 1: Chieroxylon Swietenia.]
Another useful tree, very common in Ceylon, is the Suria[1], with
flowers so like those of a tulip that Europeans know it as the tulip
tree. It loves the sea air and saline soils. It is planted all along the
avenues and streets in the towns near the coast, where it is equally
valued for its shade and the beauty of its yellow flowers, whilst its
tough wood is used for carriage shafts and gun-stocks.
[Footnote 1: Thespesia populnea.]
The forests to the east furnish the only valuable cabinet woods used in
Ceylon, the chief of which is ebony[1], which grows in great abundance
throughout all the flat country to the west of Trincomalie. It is a
different species from the ebony of Mauritius[2], and excels it and all
others in the evenness and intensity of its colour. The centre of the
trunk is the only portion which furnishes the extremely black part which
is the ebony of commerce; but the trees are of such magnitude that
reduced logs of two feet in diameter, and varying from ten to fifteen
feet in length, can readily be procured from the forests at Trincomalie.
[Footnote 1: Diospyros ebenum.]
[Footnote 2: D. reticulata.]
There is another cabinet wood, of extreme beauty, called by the natives
Cadooberia. It is a bastard species of ebony[1], in which the prevailing
black is stained with stripes of rich brown, approaching to yellow and
pink. But its density is inconsiderable, and in durability it is far
inferior to that of true ebony.
[Footnote 1: D. ebenaster.]
The Calamander[1], the most valuable cabinet wood of the island,
resembling rose-wood, but much surpassing it both in beauty and
durability, has at all times been in the greatest repute in Ceylon. It
grows chiefly in the southern provinces, and especially in the forests
at the foot of Adam's Peak; but here it has been so prodigally felled,
first by the Dutch, and afterwards by the English, without any
precautions for planting or production, that it has at last become
exceedingly rare. Wood of a large scantling is hardly procurable at any
price; and it is only in a very few localities, the principal of which
is Saffragam, in the western province, that even small sticks are now to
be found; one reason, assigned for this is that the heart of the tree is
seldom sound, a peculiarity which extends to the Cadooberia.
[Footnote 1: D. hirsuta.]
The twisted portions, and especially the roots of the latter, yield
veneers of unusual beauty, dark wavings and blotches, almost black,
being gracefully disposed over a delicate fawn-coloured ground. Its
density is so great (nearly 60 lbs. to a cubic foot) that it takes an
exquisite polish, and is in every way adapted for the manufacture of
furniture, in the ornamenting of which the native carpenters excel. The
chiefs and headmen, with a full appreciation of its beauty, take
particular pride in possessing specimens of this beautiful wood, roots
of which they regard as most acceptable gifts.
Notwithstanding its value, the tree is nearly eradicated, and runs some
risk of becoming extinct in the island; but, as it is not peculiar to
Ceylon, it may be restored by fresh importations from the south-eastern
coast of India, of which it is equally a native, and I apprehend that
the name, _Calamander_, which was used by the Dutch, is but a corruption
of "Coromandel."
Another species of cabinet wood is produced from the Nedun[1], a large
tree common on the western coast; it belongs to the Pea tribe, and is
allied to the Sisso of India. Its wood, which is lighter than the
"Blackwood" of Bombay, is used for similar purposes.
[Footnote 1: Dalbergia lanceolaria.]
The Tamarind tree[1], and especially its fine roots, produce a
variegated cabinet wood of much beauty, but of such extreme hardness as
scarcely to be workable by any ordinary tool.[2]
[Footnote 1: Tamarindus Indica.]
[Footnote 2: The natives of Western India have a belief that the shade
of the tamarind tree is unhealthy, if not poisonous. But in Ceylon it is
an object of the people, especially in the north of the island, to build
their houses under it, from the conviction that of all trees its _shade
is the coolest_. In this feeling, too, the Europeans are so far disposed
to concur that it has been suggested whether there may not be something
peculiar in the respiration of its leaves. The Singhalese have an idea
that the twigs of the ranna-wara (_Cassia auriculata_) diffuse an
agreeable coolness, and they pull them for the sake of enjoying it by
holding them in their hands or applied to the head. In the south of
Ceylon it is called the Matura tea-tree, its leaves being infused as a
substitute for tea.]
As to fruit trees, it is only on the coast, or near the large villages
and towns, that they are found in any perfection. In the deepest jungle
the sight of a single coco-nut towering above the other foliage is in
Ceylon a never-failing landmark to intimate to a traveller his approach
to a village. The natives have a superstition that the coco-nut will not
grow _out of the sound of the human voice_, and will die if the village
where it had previously thriven become deserted; the solution of the
mystery being in all probability the superior care and manuring which it
receives in such localities.[1] In the generality of the forest hamlets
there are always to be found a few venerable Tamarind trees of
patriarchal proportions, the ubiquitous Jak, with its huge fruits,
weighing from 5 to 50 lbs. (the largest eatable fruit in the world),
each springing from the rugged surface of the bark, and suspended by a
powerful stalk, which attaches it to the trunk of the tree. Lime-trees,
Oranges, and Shaddoks are carefully cultivated in these little gardens,
and occasionally the Rose-apple and the Cachu-nut, the Pappaya, and
invariably as plentiful a supply of Plantains as they find it prudent to
raise without inviting the visits of the wild elephants, with whom they
are especial favourites.
[Footnote 1: See Vol. II. p. 125.]
These, and the Bilimbi and Guava, the latter of which is naturalised in
the jungle around every cottage, are almost the only fruits of the
country; but the Pine-apple, the Mango, the Avocado-pear, the
Custard-apple, the Rambutan (_Nephelium lappaceum_), the Fig, the
Granadilla, and a number of other exotics, are successfully reared in
the gardens of the wealthier inhabitants of the towns and villages; and
within the last few years the peerless Mangustin of Malacca, the
delicacy of which we can imagine to resemble that of perfumed snow, has
been successfully cultivated in the gardens of Caltura and Colombo.
With the exception of the orange, the fruits of Ceylon have one
deficiency, common, I apprehend, to all tropical countries. They are
wanting in that piquancy which in northern climates is attributable to
the exquisite perfection in which the sweet and aromatic flavours are
blended with the acidulous. Either the acid is so ascendant as to be
repulsive to the European palate, or the saccharine so preponderates as
to render Singhalese fruit cloying and distasteful.
Still, all other defects are compensated by the coolness which pervades
them; and, under the exhaustion of a blazing sun, no more exquisite
physical enjoyment can be imagined than the chill and fragrant flesh of
the pine-apple, or the abundant juice of the mango, which, when freshly
pulled, feels as cool as iced water. But the fruit must be eaten
instantly; even an interval of a few minutes after it has been gathered
is sufficient to destroy the charm; for, once severed from the stem, it
rapidly acquires the temperature of the surrounding air.
Sufficient admiration has hardly been bestowed upon the marvellous power
displayed by the vegetable world in adjusting its own temperature,
notwithstanding atmospheric fluctuations,--a faculty in the
manifestation of which it appears to present a counterpart to that
exhibited by animal oeconomy in regulating its heat. So uniform is the
exercise of the latter faculty in man and the higher animals, that there
is barely a difference of three degrees between the warmth of the body
in the utmost endurable vicissitudes of heat and cold; and in vegetables
an equivalent arrangement enables them in winter to keep their
temperature somewhat above that of the surrounding air, and in summer to
reduce it far below it. It would almost seem as if plants possessed a
power of producing cold analogous to that exhibited by animals in
producing heat; and of this beneficent arrangement man enjoys the
benefit in the luxurious coolness of the fruit which nature lavishes on
the tropics.
The peculiar organisation by which this result is obtained is not free
from obscurity, but in all probability the means of adjusting the
temperature of plants is simply dependent on evaporation. As regards the
power possessed by vegetables of generating heat, although it has been
demonstrated to exist, it is in so trifling a degree as to be almost
inappreciable, except at the period of germination, when it probably
arises from the consumption of oxygen in generating the carbonic acid
gas which is then evolved. The faculty of retaining this warmth at night
and at other times may, therefore, be referable mainly to the closing of
the pores, and the consequent check of evaporation.
On the other hand, the faculty of maintaining a temperature below that
of the surrounding air, can only be accounted for by referring it to the
mechanical process of imbibing a continuous supply of fresh moisture
from the soil, the active transpiration of which imparts coolness to
every portion of the tree and its fruit. It requires this combined
operation to produce the desired result; and the extent to which
evaporation can bring down the temperature of the moisture received by
absorption, may be inferred from the fact that Dr. Hooker, when in the
valley of the Ganges, found the fresh milky juice of the Mudar
(_calotropis_) to be but 72 deg., whilst the damp sand in the bed of the
river where it grew was from 90 deg. to 104 deg.
Even in temperate climates this phenomenon is calculated to excite
admiration; but it is still more striking to find the like effect rather
increased than diminished in the tropics, where one would suppose that
the juices, especially of a small and delicate plant, before they could
be cooled by evaporation, would be liable to be heated by the blazing
sun.
A difficulty would also seem to present itself in the instance of fruit,
whose juices, having to undergo a chemical change, their circulation
would be conjectured to be slower; and in the instance of those with
hard skins, such as the pomegranate, or with a tough leathery coating,
like the mango, the evaporation might be imagined to be less than in
those of a soft and spongy texture. But all share alike in the general
coolness of the plant, so long as circulation supplies fluid for
evaporation; and the moment this resource is cut off by the separation
of the fruit from the tree, the supply of moisture failing, the process
of refrigeration is arrested, and the charm of agreeable freshness gone.
It only remains to notice the aquatic plants, which are found in greater
profusion in the northern and eastern provinces than in any other
districts of the island, owing to the innumerable tanks and neglected
watercourses which cover the whole surface of this once productive
province, but which now only harbour the alligator, or satisfy the
thirst of the deer and the elephant.
[Footnote 1: See on this subject LINDLEY'S _Introduction to Botany_,
vol. ii. book ii. ch. viii. p. 215.
CARPENTER, _Animal Physiology_, ch. ix. s. 407. CARPENTER'S _Vegetable
Physiology_, ch. xi. s. 407, Lond. 1848.]
The chief ornaments of these neglected sheets of water are the large red
and white Lotus[1], whose flowers may be seen from a great distance
reposing on their broad green leaves. In China and some parts of India
the black seeds of these plants, which are not unlike little acorns in
shape, are served at table in place of almonds, which they are said to
resemble, but with a superior delicacy of flavour. At some of the tanks
where the lotus grows in profusion in Ceylon, I tasted the seeds
enclosed in the torus of the flowers, and found them white and
delicately-flavoured, not unlike the small kernel of the pine cone of
the Apennines. This red lotus of the island appears to be the one that
Herodotus describes as abounding in the Nile in his time, but which is
now extinct; with a flower resembling a rose, and a fruit in shape like
a wasp's nest, and containing seeds of the size of an olive stone, and
of an agreeable flavour.[2] But it has clearly no identity with those
which he describes as the food of the Lotophagi of Africa, of the size
of the mastic[3], sweet as a date, and capable of being made into wine.
[Footnote 1: Nelumbium speciosum.]
[Footnote 2: Herodotus, b. ii. s. 92.]
[Footnote 3: The words are "[Greek: Esti megathos hoson te tes schinou]"
(Herod. b. iv. s. 177); and as [Greek: schinos] means also a _squill_ or
a _sea-onion_, the fruit above referred to, as the food of the
Lotophagi, must have been of infinitely larger size and in every way
different from the lotus of the Nile, described in the 2nd book, as well
as from the lotus in the East. Lindley records the conjecture that the
article referred to by Herodotus was the _nabk_, the berry of the
lote-bush (_Zizyphus lotus_), which the Arabs of Barbary still eat.
(_Vegetable Kingdom_, p. 582.)]
One species of the water lily, the _Nymphaea rubra_, with small red
flowers, and of great beauty, is common in the ponds near Jaffna and in
the Wanny; and I found in the fosse, near the fort of Moeletivoe, the
beautiful blue lotus, _N. stellata_, with lilac petals, approaching to
purple in the centre, which had not previously been supposed to be a
native of the island.
Another very interesting aquatic plant, which was discovered by Dr.
Gardner in the tanks north of Trincomalie, is the _Desmanthus natans_,
with highly sensitive leaves floating on the surface of the water. It is
borne aloft by masses of a spongy cellular substance, which occur at
intervals along its stem and branches, but the roots never touch the
bottom, absorbing nourishment whilst floating at liberty, and only found
in contact with the ground after the subsidence of water in the
tanks.[1]
[Footnote 1: A species of _Utricularia_, with yellow flowers (U.
stellaris), is a common water-plant in the still lakes near the fort of
Colombo, where an opportunity is afforded of observing the extraordinary
provision of nature for its reproduction. There are small appendages
attached to the roots, which become distended with air, and thus carry
the plant aloft to the surface, during the cool season. Here it floats
till the operation of flowering is over, when the vesicles burst, and by
its own weight it returns to the bottom of the lake to ripen its seeds
and deposit them in the soil; after which the air vessels again fill,
and again it re-ascends to undergo the same process of fecundation.]
PART II.
ZOOLOGY.
CHAPTER I.
MAMMALIA.
With the exception of the Mammalia and the Birds, the fauna of Ceylon
has, up to the present, failed to receive that systematic attention to
which its richness and variety so amply entitle it. The Singhalese
themselves, habitually indolent and singularly unobservant of nature in
her operations, are at the same time restrained from the study of
natural history by tenets of their religion which forbid the taking of
life under any circumstances. From the nature of their avocations, the
majority of the European residents engaged in planting and commerce, are
discouraged from gratifying this taste; and it is to be regretted that
the civil servants of the government, whose position and duties would
have afforded them influence and extended opportunity for successful
investigation, have never seen the importance of encouraging such
studies.
The first effective impulse to the cultivation of natural science in
Ceylon, was communicated by Dr. Davy when connected with the medical
staff of the army from 1816 to 1820, and his example stimulated some of
the assistant surgeons of Her Majesty's forces to make collections in
illustration of the productions of the colony. Of the late Dr. Kinnis
was one of the most energetic and successful. He was seconded by Dr.
Templeton of the Royal Artillery, who engaged assiduously in the
investigation of various orders, and commenced an interchange of
specimens with Mr. Blyth[1], the distinguished naturalist and curator of
the Calcutta Museum.
[Footnote 1: _Journ. Asiat. Soc. Bengal,_ vol. xv. p. 280, 314.]
The birds and rarer vertebrata of the island were thus compared with
their peninsular congeners, and a tolerable knowledge of those belonging
to the island, so far as regards the higher classes of animals, has been
the result. The example so set has been perseveringly followed by Mr.
E.L. Layard and Dr. Kelaart, and infinite credit is due to Mr. Blyth for
the zealous and untiring energy with which he has devoted his attention
and leisure to the identification of the various interesting species
forwarded from Ceylon, and to their description in the Calcutta Journal.
To him, and to the gentleman I have named, we are mainly indebted, for
whatever accurate knowledge we now possess of the zoology of the colony.
The mammalia, birds, and reptiles received their first scientific
description in an able work published recently by Dr. Kelaart of the
army medical staff[1], which is by far the most valuable that has yet
appeared on the Singhalese fauna. Co-operating with him, Mr. Layard has
supplied a fund of information especially in ornithology and conchology.
The zoophytes and crustacea have been investigated by Professor Harvey,
who visited Ceylon for that purpose in 1852, and by Professor Schmarda,
of the University of Prague, who was lately sent there for a similar
object. From the united labours of these gentlemen and others interested
in the same pursuits, we may hope at an early day to obtain such a
knowledge of the zoology of Ceylon, as may to some extent compensate for
the long indifference of the government officers.
[Footnote 1: _Prodromus Faunae Zeylanicae; being Contributions to the
Zoology of Ceylon_, by F. KELAART, Esq., M.D., F.L.S., &c. &c. 2 vols.
Colombo and London, 1852. Mr. DAVY, of the Medical Staff; brother to Sir
Humphry, published in 1821 his _Account of the Interior of Ceylon and
its Inhabitants_, which contains the earliest notices of the natural
history of the island, and especially of the Ophidian reptiles.]
I. QUADRUMANA. 1 _Monkeys_.--To a stranger in the tropics, among the
most attractive creatures in the forests are the troops of _monkeys_,
which career in ceaseless chase among the loftiest trees. In Ceylon
there are five species, four of which belong to one group, the
Wanderoos, and the other is the little graceful grimacing _rilawa_[1],
which is the universal pet and favourite, of both natives and Europeans.
[Footnote 1: _Macacus pileatus_, Shaw and Desmmarest. The "bonneted
Macaque" is common in the south and west; and a spectacled monkey is
_said_ to inhabit the low country near to Bintenne; but I have never
seen one brought thence. A paper by Dr. TEMPLETON in the _Mag. Nat.
Hist_. n.s. xiv. p. 361, contains some interesting facts relative to the
Rilawa of Ceylon.]
KNOX, in his captivating account of the island, gives an accurate
description of both; the Rilawas, with "no beards, white faces, and long
hair on the top of their heads, which parteth and hangeth down like a
man's, and which do a deal of mischief to the corn, and are so impudent
that they will come into their gardens, and eat such fruit as grows
there. And the Wanderoos, some as large as our English Spaniel dogs, of
a darkish grey colour, and black faces with great white beards round
from ear to ear, which makes them shew just like old men. This sort does
but little mischief, keeping in the woods, eating only leaves and buds
of trees, but when they are catched they will eat anything."[1]
[Footnote 1: KNOX, _Historical Relation of Ceylon, an Island in the East
Indies_.--P. i. ch. vi. p. 25. Fol. Lond. 1681.]
KNOX, whose experience was confined almost exclusively to the hill
country around Kandy, spoke in all probability of one large and
comparatively powerful species, _Presbytes ursinus_, which inhabits the
lofty forests, and which, as well as another of the same group, _P.
Thersites_, was, till recently, unknown to European naturalists. The
Singhalese word _Ouanderu_ has a generic sense, and being in every
respect the equivalent for our own term of "monkey," it necessarily
comprehends the low country species, as well as those which inhabit
other parts of the island. And, in point of fact, in the island there
are no less than four animals, each of which is entitled to the name of
"wanderoo."[1]
[Footnote 1: Down to a very late period, a large and somewhat
repulsive-looking monkey, common to the Malabar coast, the Silenus
veter, _Linn_., was, from the circumstance of his possessing a "great
white beard," incorrectly assumed to be the "wanderoo" of Ceylon,
described by KNOX; and under that usurped name it has figured in every
author from Buffon to the present time. Specimens of the true Singhalese
species were, however, received in Europe; but in the absence of
information in this country as to their actual habitat, they were
described, first by Zimmerman, on the continent, under the name of
_Leucoprymnus cephalopterus,_ and subsequently by Mr. E. Bennett, under
that of _Semnopithecus Nestor (Proc. Zool. Soc._ pt. i. p. 67: 1833);
the generic and specific characters being on this occasion most
carefully pointed out by that eminent naturalist. Eleven years later Dr.
Templeton forwarded to the Zoological Society a description, accompanied
by drawings, of the wanderoo of the western maritime districts of
Ceylon, and noticed the fact that the wanderoo of authors (S. veter) was
not to be found in the island except as an introduced species in the
custody of the Arab horse-dealers, who visit the port of Colombo at
stated periods. Mr. Waterhouse, at the meeting (_Proc. Zool. Soc._ p. 1:
1844) at which this communication was read, recognised the identity of
the subject of Dr. Templeton's description with that already laid before
them by Mr. Bennett; and from this period the species in question was
believed to truly represent the wanderoo of Knox. The later discovery,
however, of the P. ursinus by Dr. Kelaart, in the mountains amongst
which we are assured that Knox spent so many years of captivity, reopens
the question, but at the same time appears to me to clearly demonstrate
that in this latter we have in reality the animal to which his narrative
refers.]
Each separate species has appropriated to itself a different district of
the wooded country, and seldom encroaches on the domain of its
neighbours.
1. Of the four species found in Ceylon, the most numerous in the island,
and the one best known in Europe, is the Wanderoo of the low country,
the _P. cephalopterus_ of Zimmerman.[1] It is an active and intelligent
creature, not much larger than the common bonneted Macaque, and far from
being so mischievous as others of the monkeys in the island. In
captivity it is remarkable for the gravity of its demeanour and for an
air of melancholy in its expression and movements, which is completely
in character with its snowy beard and venerable aspect. Its disposition
is gentle and confiding, it is in the highest degree sensible of
kindness, and eager for endearing attentions, uttering a low plaintive
cry when its sympathies are excited. It is particularly cleanly in its
habits when domesticated, and spends much of its time in trimming its
fur, and carefully divesting its hair of particles of dust.
[Footnote 1: Leucoprymnus Nestor, _Bennett_.]
Although common in the southern and western provinces, it is never found
at a higher elevation than 1300 feet.
When observed in their native wilds, a party of twenty or thirty of
these creatures is generally busily engaged in the search for berries
and buds. They are seldom to be seen on the ground, and then only when
they have descended to recover seeds or fruit that have fallen at the
foot of their favourite trees. In their alarm, when disturbed, their
leaps are prodigious; but generally speaking, their progress is made not
so much by _leaping_ as by swinging from branch to branch, using their
powerful arms alternately; and when baffled by distance, flinging
themselves obliquely so as to catch the lower boughs of an opposite
tree, the momentum acquired by their descent being sufficient to cause a
rebound, that carries them again upwards, till they can grasp a higher
branch; and thus continue their headlong flight. In these perilous
achievements, wonder is excited less by the surpassing agility of these
little creatures, frequently encumbered as they are by their young,
which cling to them in their career, than by the quickness of their eye
and the unerring accuracy with which they seem almost to calculate the
angle at which a descent would enable them to cover a given distance,
and the recoil to elevate themselves again to a higher altitude.
2. The low country Wanderoo is replaced in the hills by the larger
species, _P. ursinus_, which inhabits the mountain zone. The natives,
who designate the latter the _Maha_ or Great Wanderoo, to distinguish it
from the _Kaloo_, or black one, with which they are familiar, describe
it as much wilder and more powerful than its congener of the lowland
forests. It is rarely seen by Europeans, this portion of the country
having till very recently been but partially opened; and even now it is
difficult to observe its habits, as it seldom approaches the few roads
which wind through these deep solitudes. It was first captured by Dr.
Kelaart in the woods near Neuera-ellia, and from its peculiar appearance
it has been named _P. ursinus_ by Mr. Blyth.[1]
[Footnote 1: Mr. Blyth quotes as authority for this trivial name a
passage from MAJOR FORBES' _Eleven Years in Ceylon_; and I can vouch for
the graphic accuracy of the remark.--"A species of very large monkey,
that passed some distance before me, when resting on all fours, looked
so like a Ceylon bear, that I nearly took him for one."]
3. The _P. Thersites_, which is chiefly distinguished from the others by
wanting the head tuft, is so rare that it was for some time doubtful
whether the single specimen procured by Dr. Templeton from
Neuera-kalawa, west of Trincomalie, and on which Mr. Blyth conferred
this new name, was in reality native; but the occurrence of a second,
since identified by Dr. Kelaart, has established its existence as a
separate species.
Like the common wanderoo, this one was partial to fresh vegetables,
plantains, and fruit; but he ate freely boiled rice, beans, and gram. He
was fond of being noticed and petted, stretching out his limbs in
succession to be scratched, drawing himself up so that his ribs might be
reached by the finger, and closing his eyes during the operation,
evincing his satisfaction by grimaces irresistibly ludicrous.
4. The _P. Priamus_ inhabits the northern and eastern provinces, and the
wooded hills which occur in these portions of the island. In appearance
it differs both in size and in colour from the common wanderoo, being
larger and more inclining to grey; and in habits it is much less
reserved. At Jaffna, and in other parts of the island where the
population is comparatively numerous, these monkeys become so
familiarised with the presence of man as to exhibit the utmost daring
and indifference. A flock of them will take possession of a Palmyra
palm; and so effectually can they crouch and conceal themselves among
the leaves that, on the slightest alarm, the whole party becomes
invisible in an instant. The presence of a dog, however, excites such an
irrepressible curiosity that, in order to watch his movements, they
never fail to betray themselves. They may be seen frequently congregated
on the roof of a native hut; and, some years ago, the child of a
European clergyman stationed at Tillipalli having been left on the
ground by the nurse, was so teased and bitten by them as to cause its
death.
The Singhalese have the impression that the remains of a monkey are
never found in the forest; a belief which they have embodied in the
proverb that "he who has seen a white crow, the nest of a paddy bird, a
straight coco-nut tree, or a dead monkey, is certain to live for ever."
This piece of folk-lore has evidently reached Ceylon from India, where
it is believed that persons dwelling on the spot where a hanuman monkey,
_S. entellus_, has been killed, will die, and that even its bones are
unlucky, and that no house erected where they are hid under ground can
prosper. Hence when a house is to be built, it is one of the employments
of the Jyotish philosophers to ascertain by their science that none such
are concealed; and Buchanan observes that "it is, perhaps, owing to this
fear of ill-luck that no native will acknowledge his having seen a dead
hanuman."[1]
[Footnote 1: BUCHANAN'S _Survey of Bhagulpoor_, p. 142. At Gibraltar it
is believed that the body of _a dead monkey_ is never found on the
rock.]
The only other quadrumanous animal found in Ceylon is the little
loris[1], which, from its sluggish movements, nocturnal habits, and
consequent inaction during the day, has acquired the name of the "Ceylon
Sloth." There are two varieties in the island; one of the ordinary
fulvous brown, and another larger, whose fur is entirely black. A
specimen of the former was sent to me from Chilaw, on the western coast,
and lived for some time at Colombo, feeding on rice, fruit, and
vegetables. It was partial to ants and other insects, and always eager
for milk or the bone of a fowl. The naturally slow motion of its limbs
enables the loris to approach its prey so stealthily that it seizes
birds before they can be alarmed by its presence. The natives assert
that it has been known to strangle the pea-fowl at night, and feast on
the brain. During the day the one which I kept was usually asleep in the
strange position represented below; its perch firmly grasped with all
hands, its back curved into a ball of soft fur, and its head hidden deep
between its legs. The singularly-large and intense eyes of the loris
have attracted the attention of the Singhalese, who capture the creature
for the purpose of extracting them as charms and love-potions, and this
they are said to effect by holding the little animal to the fire till
its eyeballs burst. Its Tamil name is _theivangu_, or "thin-bodied;" and
hence a deformed child or an emaciated person has acquired in the Tamil
districts the same epithet. The light-coloured variety of the loris in
Ceylon has a spot on its forehead, somewhat resembling the _namam_, or
mark worn by the worshippers of Vishnu; and, from this peculiarity, it
is distinguished as the _Nama-theivangu_.[2]
[Footnote 1: Loris gracilis, _Geoff_.]
[Footnote 2: There is an interesting notice of the loris of Ceylon by
Dr. TEMPLETON, in the _Mag. Nat. Hist_. 1844, ch. xiv. p. 362.]
[Illustration: THE LORIS]
II. CHEIROPTERA. _Bats_.--The multitude of _bats_ is one of the features
of the evening landscape; they abound in every cave and subterranean
passage, in the tunnels on the highways, in the galleries of the
fortifications, in the roofs of the bungalows, and the ruins of every
temple and building. At sunset they are seen issuing from their diurnal
retreats to roam through the twilight in search of crepuscular insects,
and as night approaches and the lights in the rooms attract the
night-flying lepidoptera, the bats sweep round the dinner-table and
carry off their tiny prey within the glitter of the lamps. Including the
frugivorous section about sixteen species have been identified in
Ceylon, and of these, two varieties are peculiar to the island. The
colours of some of them are as brilliant as the plumage of a bird,
bright yellow, deep orange, and a rich ferruginous brown inclining to
red.[1] The Roussette[2] of Ceylon (the "Flying-fox," as it is usually
called by Europeans) measures from three to four feet from point to
point of its extended wings, and some of them have been seen wanting but
a few inches of five feet in the alar expanse. These sombre-looking
creatures feed chiefly on ripe fruits, the guava, the plantain, and the
rose-apple, and are abundant in all the maritime districts, especially
at the season when the silk-cotton tree, the _pulun-imbul_,[3] is
putting forth its flower-buds, of which they are singularly fond. By day
they suspend themselves from the highest branches, hanging by the claws
of the hind legs, pressing the chin against the breast, and using the
closed membrane attached to the forearms as a mantle to envelope the
head. At sunset launching into the air, they hover with a murmuring
sound occasioned by the beating of their broad membranous wings, around
the fruit trees, on which they feed till morning, when they resume their
pensile attitude as before. They are strongly attracted to the coco-nut
trees during the period when toddy is drawn for distillation, and
exhibit, it is said, at such times symptoms resembling intoxication.[4]
[Footnote 1:
Rhinolophus affinis? _var_. rubidus, _Kelaart_.
Hipposideros murinus, _var_. fulvus, _Kelaart_.
Hipposideros speoris, _var_. aureus, _Kelaart_.
Kerivoula picta, _Pallas_.
Scotophilus Heathii, _Horsf_.]
[Footnote 2: Pteropus Edwardsii, _Geoff_.]
[Footnote 3: Eriodendron orientale, _Stead_.]
[Footnote 4: Mr. THWAITES, of the Royal Botanic Garden, at Kandy, in a
recent letter, 19th Dec. 1858, gives the following description of a
periodical visit of the pteropus to an avenue of fig-trees:--"You would
be much interested now in observing a colony of the _pteropus_ bat,
which has established itself for a season on some trees within sight of
my bungalow. They came about the same time last year, and, after staying
a few weeks, disappeared: I suppose they had demolished all the
available food in the neighbourhood. They are now busy of an evening
eating the figs of _Ficus elastica_, of which we have a long avenue in
the grounds, as I dare say you remember.
"These bats take possession during the day of particular trees, upon
which they hang like so much ripe fruit, but they take it into their
heads to have some exercise every morning between the hours of 9 and 11,
during which they are wheeling about in the air by the hundred,
seemingly enjoying the sunshine and warmth. They then return to their
fevourite tree, and remain quiet until the evening, when they move off
towards their feeding ground. There is a great chattering and screaming
amongst them before they can get agreeably settled in their places after
their morning exercise; quarrelling, I suppose, for the most comfortable
spots to hang on by during the rest of the day. The trees they take
possession of become nearly stripped of leaves; and it is a curious
sight to see them in such immense numbers. I do not allow them to be
disturbed."]
The flying-fox is killed by the natives for the sake of its flesh, which
I have been told, by a gentleman who has eaten it, resembles that of the
hare.[1]
[Footnote 1: In Western India the native Portuguese eat the flying-fox,
and pronounce it delicate, and far from disagreeable in flavour.]
There are several varieties (some of them peculiar to the island) of the
horse-shoe-headed _Rhinolophus_, with the strange leaf-like appendage
erected on the extremity of the nose. It has been suggested that bats,
though nocturnal, are deficient in that keen vision characteristic of
animals which take their prey at night. I doubt whether this conjecture
be well founded; but at least it would seem that in their peculiar
oeconomy some additional power is required to supplement that of vision,
as in insects that of touch is superadded, in the most sensitive
development, to that of sight. Hence, it is possible that the extended
screen stretched at the back of their nostrils may be intended by nature
to facilitate the collection and conduction of odours, as the vast
development of the shell of the ear in the same family is designed to
assist in the collection of sounds--and thus to reinforce their vision
when in pursuit of their prey at twilight by the superior sensitiveness
of the organs of hearing and smell, as they are already remarkable for
that marvellous sense of touch which enables them, even when deprived of
sight, to direct their flight with security, by means of the delicate
nerves of the wing. One tiny little bat, not much larger than the humble
bee[1], and of a glossy black colour, is sometimes to be seen about
Colombo. It is so familiar and gentle that it will alight on the cloth
during dinner, and manifests so little alarm that it seldom makes any
effort to escape before a wine glass can be inverted to secure it.[2]
[Footnote 1: It is a _very_ small Singhalese variety of Scotophilus
Coromandelicus; _F. Cuv_.]
[Footnote 2: For a notice of the curious parasite peculiar to the bat,
see Note A. end of this chapter.]
III. CARNIVORA.--_Bears_.--Of the _carnivora_, the one most dreaded by
the natives of Ceylon, and the only one of the larger animals which
makes the depths of the forest its habitual retreat, is the bear[1],
attracted by the honey which is to be found in the hollow trees and
clefts of the rocks. Occasionally spots of fresh earth are observed
which have been turned up by them in search of some favourite root. They
feed also on the termites and ants. A friend of mine traversing the
forest near Jaffna, at early dawn, had his attention attracted by the
growling of a bear, which was seated upon a lofty branch thrusting
portions of a red-ant's nest into its mouth with one paw, whilst with
the other he endeavoured to clear his eyebrows and lips of the angry
inmates which bit and tortured him in their rage. The Ceylon bear is
found only in the low and dry districts of the northern and
south-eastern coast, and is seldom met with on the mountains or the
moist and damp plains of the west. It is furnished with a bushy tuft of
hair on the back, between the shoulders, to which the young are
accustomed to cling till sufficiently strong to provide for their own
safety. During a severe drought which prevailed in the northern province
in 1850, the district of Caretchy was so infested by bears that the
Oriental custom of the women resorting to the wells was altogether
suspended, as it was a common occurrence to find one of these animals in
the water, unable to climb up the yielding and slippery soil, down which
his thirst had impelled him to slide during the night.
[Footnote 1: Prochilus labiatus, _Blainville_.]
Although the structure of the bear shows him to be naturally omnivorous,
he rarely preys upon flesh in Ceylon, and his solitary habits whilst in
search of honey and fruits, render him timid and retiring. Hence he
evinces alarm on the approach of man or other animals, and, unable to
make a rapid retreat, his panic rather than any vicious disposition
leads him to become an assailant in self-defence. But so furious are his
assaults under such circumstances that the Singhalese have a terror of
his attack greater than that created by any other beast of the forest.
If not armed with a gun, a native, in the places where bears abound,
usually carries a light axe, called "kodelly," with which to strike them
on the head. The bear, on the other hand, always aims, at the face, and,
if successful in prostrating his victim, usually commences by assailing
the eyes. I have met numerous individuals on our journeys who exhibited
frightful scars from these encounters, the white seams of their wounds
contrasting hideously with the dark colour of the rest of their bodies.
The Veddahs in Bintenne, whose chief stores consist of honey, live in
dread of the bears, because, attracted by its perfume, they will not
hesitate to attack their rude dwellings, when allured by this
irresistible temptation. The Post-office runners, who always travel by
night, are frequently exposed to danger from these animals, especially
along the coast from Putlam to Aripo, where they are found in
considerable numbers; and, to guard against surprise, they are
accustomed to carry flambeaux, to give warning to the bears, and enable
them to shuffle out of the path.[1]
[Footnote 1: Amongst the Singhalese there is a belief that certain
charms are efficacious in protecting them from the violence of bears,
and those whose avocations expose them to encounters of this kind are
accustomed to carry a talisman either attached to their neck or
enveloped in the folds of their luxuriant hair. A friend of mine,
writing of an adventure which occurred at Anarajapoora, thus describes
an occasion on which a Moor, who attended him, was somewhat rudely
disabused of his belief in the efficacy of charms upon bears:--"Desiring
to change the position of a herd of deer, the Moorman (with his charm)
was sent across some swampy land to disturb them. As he was proceeding
we saw him suddenly turn from an old tree and run back with all speed,
his hair becoming unfastened and like his clothes streaming in the wind.
It soon became evident that he was flying from some terrific object, for
he had thrown down his gun, and, in his panic, he was taking the
shortest line towards us, which lay across a swamp covered with sedge
and rushes that greatly impeded his progress, and prevented us
approaching him, or seeing what was the cause of his flight. Missing his
steps from one hard spot to another he repeatedly fell into the water,
but he rose and resumed his flight. I advanced as far as the sods would
bear my weight, but to go further was impracticable. Just within ball
range there was an open space, and, as the man gained it, I saw that he
was pursued by a bear and two cubs. As the person of the fugitive
covered the bear, it was impossible to fire without risk. At last he
fell exhausted, and the bear being close upon him, I discharged both
barrels. The first broke the bear's shoulder, but this only made her
more savage, and rising on her hind legs she advanced with ferocious
grunts, when the second barrel, though I do not think it took effect,
served to frighten her, for turning round she retreated at full speed,
followed by the cubs. Some natives then waded through the mud to the
Moorman, who was just exhausted and would have been drowned but that he
fell with his head upon a tuft of grass: the poor man was unable to
speak, and for several weeks his intellect seemed confused. The
adventure sufficed to satisfy him that he could not again depend upon a
charm to protect him from bears, though he always insisted that but for
its having fallen from his hair where he had fastened it under his
turban, the bear would not have ventured to attack him."]
Leopards[1] are the only formidable members of the tiger race in Ceylon,
and they are neither very numerous nor very dangerous as they seldom
attack man. By Europeans they are commonly called cheetahs; but the true
cheetah, the hunting leopard of India (_Felis jubata_), does not exist
in Ceylon. There is a rare variety which has been found in various parts
of the island, in which the skin, instead of being spotted, is of a
uniform black.[2] The leopards frequent the vicinity of pasture lands in
quest of the deer and other peaceful animals which resort to them; and
the villagers often complain of the destruction of their cattle by these
formidable marauders. In relation to them, the natives have a curious
but firm conviction that when a bullock is killed by a leopard, and, in
expiring, falls so that _its right side is undermost_, the leopard will
not return to devour it. I have been told by English sportsmen (some of
whom share in the popular belief), that sometimes, when they have
proposed to watch by the carcase of a bullock recently killed by a
leopard, in the hope of shooting the spoiler on his return in search of
his prey, the native owner of the slaughtered animal, though earnestly
desiring to be avenged, has assured them that it would be in vain, as,
the beast having fallen on its right side, the leopard would not return.
[Footnote 1: Felis pardus, _Linn_. What is called a leopard, or a
cheetah, in Ceylon, is in reality the true panther.]
[Footnote 2: F. melas, _Peron_ and _Leseur_.]
The Singhalese hunt them for the sake of their extremely beautiful
skins, but prefer taking them in traps and pitfalls, and occasionally in
spring cages formed of poles driven firmly into the ground, within which
a kid is generally fastened as a bait; the door being held open by a
sapling bent down by the united force of several men, and so arranged to
act as a spring, to which a noose is ingeniously attached, formed of
plaited deer hide. The cries of the kid attract the leopards, one of
which, being tempted to enter, is enclosed by the liberation of the
spring and grasped firmly round the body by the noose.
Like the other carnivora, they are timid and cowardly in the presence of
man, never intruding on him voluntarily and making a hasty retreat when
approached. Instances have, however, occurred of individuals having been
slain by them, and like the tiger, it is believed, that, having once
tasted human blood they acquire an habitual relish for it. A peon on
night duty at the courthouse at Anarajapoora, was some years ago carried
off by a leopard from a table in the verandah on which he had laid down
his head to sleep. At Batticaloa a "cheetah" in two instances in
succession was known to carry off men placed on a stage erected in a
tree to drive away elephants from the rice-lands: but such cases are
rare, and as compared with their dread of the bear, the natives of
Ceylon entertain but slight apprehensions of the "cheetah." It is,
however, the dread of sportsmen, whose dogs when beating in the jungle
are especially exposed to its attacks: and I am aware of one instance in
which a party having tied their dogs to the tent-pole for security, and
fallen asleep around them, a leopard sprang into the tent and carried
off a dog from the midst of its slumbering masters.
They are strongly attracted by the peculiar odour which accompanies
small-pox. The reluctance of the natives to submit themselves or their
children to vaccination exposes the island to frightful visitations of
this disease; and in the villages in the interior it is usual on such
occasions to erect huts in the jungle to serve as temporary hospitals.
Towards these the leopards are certain to be allured; and the medical
officers are obliged to resort to increased precautions in consequence.
On one occasion being in the mountains near Kandy, a messenger
despatched to me through the jungle excused his delay by stating that a
"cheetah" had seated itself in the only practicable path, and remained
quietly licking its fore paws and rubbing them over its face, till he
was forced to drive it, with stones, into the forest.
Major Skinner, who for upwards of forty years has had occasion to live
almost constantly in the interior, occupied in the prosecution of
surveys and the construction of roads, is strongly of opinion that
towards man the disposition of the leopard is essentially pacific, and
that, when discovered, its natural impulse is to effect its escape. In
illustration of this, I insert an extract from one of his letters, which
describes an adventure highly characteristic of this instinctive
timidity.
"On the occasion of one of my visits to Adam's Peak in the prosecution
of my military reconnoissances of the mountain, zone, I fixed on a
pretty little patena (i.e. meadow) in the midst of an extensive and
dense forest in the southern segment of the Peak Range, as a favourable
spot for operations. It would have been difficult, after descending from
the cone of the peak, to have found one's way to this point, in the
midst of so vast a wilderness of trees, had not long experience assured
me that good game tracks would be found leading to it, and by one of
them I reached it. It was in the afternoon, just after one of those
tropical sun-showers which decorate every branch and blade with its
pendant brilliants, and the little patena was covered with game, either
driven to the open space by the drippings from the leaves or tempted by
the freshness of the pasture: there were several pairs of elk, the
bearded antlered male contrasting finely with his mate; and other
varieties of game in a profusion not to be found in any place frequented
by man. It was some time before I could allow them to be disturbed by
the rude fall of the axe, in our necessity to establish our bivouac for
the night, and they were so unaccustomed to danger, that it was long
before they took alarm at our noises.
"The following morning, anxious to gain a height in time to avail myself
of the clear atmosphere of sunrise for my observations, I started off by
myself through the jungle, leaving orders for my men, with my surveying
instruments, to follow my track by the notches which I cut in the bark
of the trees. On leaving the plain, I availed myself of a fine wide game
track which lay in my direction, and had gone, perhaps half a mile from
the camp, when I was startled by a slight rustling in the nilloo[1] to
my right, and in another instant, by the spring of a magnificent leopard
which, in a bound of full eight feet in height over the lower brushwood,
lighted at my feet within eighteen inches of the spot whereon I stood,
and lay in a crouching position, his fiery gleaming eyes fixed on me.
[Footnote 1: A species of one of the suffruticose _Acanthacea_ which
grows abundantly in the mountain ranges of Ceylon. See _ante_, p. 90 n.]
"The predicament was not a pleasant one. I had no weapon of defence, and
with one spring or blow of his paw the beast could have annihilated me.
To move I knew would only encourage his attack. It occurred to me at the
moment that I had heard of the power of man's eye over wild animals, and
accordingly I fixed my gaze as intently, as the agitation of such a
moment enabled me, on his eyes: we stared at each other for some
seconds, when, to my inexpressible joy, the beast turned and bounded
down the straight open path before me." "This scene occurred just at
that period of the morning when the grazing animals retired from the
open patena to the cool shade of the forest: doubtless, the leopard had
taken my approach for that of a deer, or some such animal. And if his
spring had been at a quadruped instead of a biped, his distance was so
well measured, that it must have landed him on the neck of a deer, an
elk, or a buffalo; as it was, one pace more would have done for me. A
bear would not have let his victim off so easily."
It is said, but I never have been able personally to verify the fact,
that the Ceylon leopard exhibits a peculiarity in being unable entirely
to retract its claws within their sheaths.
Of the lesser feline species the number and variety in Ceylon is
inferior to that of India. The Palm-cat[1] lurks by day among the fronds
of the coco-nut trees, and by night makes destructive forays on the
fowls of the villagers; and, in order to suck the blood of its victim,
inflicts a wound so small as to be almost imperceptible. The glossy
genette[2], the "_Civet_" of Europeans, is common in the northern
province, where the Tamils confine it in cages for the sake of its musk,
which they collect from the wooden bars on which it rubs itself. Edrisi,
the Moorish geographer, writing in the twelfth century, enumerates musk
as one of the productions then exported from Ceylon.[3]
[Footnote 1: Paradoxurus typus, _F. Cuv_.]
[Footnote 2: Viverra Indica, _Geoffr., Hodgson_.]
[Footnote 3: EDRISI, _Geogr_., sec. vii. Jaubert's translation, t. ii.
p. 72.]
_Dogs_.--There is no native wild dog in Ceylon, but every village and
town is haunted by mongrels of European descent, which are known by the
generic description of _Pariahs_. They are a miserable race,
acknowledged by no owners, living on the garbage of the streets and
sewers, lean, wretched, and mangy, and if spoken to unexpectedly,
shrinking with an almost involuntary cry. Yet in these persecuted
outcasts there survives that germ of instinctive affection which binds
the dog to the human race, and a gentle word, even a look of
compassionate kindness, is sufficient foundation for a lasting
attachment.
The Singhalese, from their religious aversion to taking away life in any
form, permit the increase of these desolate creatures till in the hot
season they become so numerous as to be a nuisance; and the only
expedient hitherto devised by the civil government to reduce their
numbers, is once in each year to offer a reward for their destruction,
when the Tamils and Malays pursue them in the streets with clubs (guns
being forbidden by the police for fear of accidents), and the
unresisting dogs are beaten to death on the side-paths and door steps,
where they had been taught to resort for food. Lord Torrington, during
his tenure of office, attempted the more civilised experiment of putting
some check on their numbers, by imposing a dog tax, the effect of which
would have been to lead to the drowning of puppies; whereas there is
reason to believe that dogs are at present _bred_ by the horse-keepers
to be killed for sake of the reward.
_Jackal_.--The Jackal[1] in the low country hunts in packs, headed by a
leader, and these audacious prowlers have been seen to assault and pull
down a deer. The small number of hares in the districts they infest is
ascribed to their depredations. An excrescence is sometimes found on the
head of the jackal, consisting of a small horny cone about half an inch
in length, and concealed by a tuft of hair. This the natives call
_Narri-comboo_, and they aver that this "Jackal's Horn" only grows on
the head of the leader of the pack.[2] The Singhalese and the Tamils
alike regard it as a talisman, and believe that its fortunate possessor
can command by its instrumentality the realisation of every wish, and
that if stolen or lost by him, it will invariably return of its own
accord. Those who have jewels to conceal, rest in perfect security if
along with them they can deposit a Narri-comboo, fully convinced that
its presence is an effectual safeguard against robbers.
[Footnote 1: Canis aureus. _Linn_.]
[Footnote 2: In the Museum of the College of Surgeons, London (No. 4362
A), there is a cranium of a jackal which exhibits this strange osseous
process on the super-occipital; and I have placed along with it a
specimen of the horny sheath, which was presented to me by Mr.
Lavalliere, the district judge of Kandy.]
Jackals are subject to hydrophobia, and instances are frequent of cattle
being bitten by them and dying in consequence.
_The Mongoos_.--Of the Mongoos or Ichneumons five species have been
described; and one which frequents the hills near Neuera-ellia[1], is so
remarkable from its bushy fur, that the invalid soldiers in the
sanatarium, to whom it is familiar, call it the "Ceylon Badger." I have
found universally that the natives of Ceylon attach no credit to the
European story of the Mongoos (_H. griseus_) resorting to some plant,
which no one has yet succeeded in identifying, as an antidote against
the bite of the venomous serpents on which it preys. There is no doubt
that in its conflicts with the cobra de capello and other poisonous
snakes, which it attacks with as little hesitation as the harmless ones,
it may be seen occasionally to retreat, and even to retire into the
jungle, and, it is added, to eat some vegetable; but a gentleman who has
been a frequent observer of its exploits, assures me that most usually
the herb it resorted to was grass; and if this were not at hand, almost
any other that grew near seemed equally acceptable. Hence has probably
arisen the long list of plants; such as the _Ophioxylon serpentinum_ and
_Ophiorhiza mungos_, the _Aristolochia Indica_, the _Mimosa octandru_,
and others, each of which has been asserted to be the ichneumon's
specific; whilst their multiplicity is demonstrative of the
non-existence of any one in particular to which the animal resorts for
an antidote. Were there any truth in the tale as regards the mongoos, it
would be difficult to understand, why other creatures, such as the
secretary bird and the falcon, which equally destroy serpents, should be
left defenceless, and the ichneumon alone provided with a prophylactic.
Besides, were the ichneumon inspired by that courage which would result
from the consciousness of security, it would be so indifferent to the
bite of the serpent, that we might conclude that, both in its approaches
and its assault, it would be utterly careless as to the precise mode of
its attack. Such, however, is far from being the case; and next to its
audacity, nothing is more surprising than the adroitness with which it
escapes the spring of the snake under a due sense of danger, and the
cunning with which it makes its arrangements to leap upon the back and
fasten its teeth in the head of the cobra. It is this display of
instinctive ingenuity that Lucan[2] celebrates where he paints the
ichneumon diverting the attention of the asp, by the motion of his bushy
tale, and then seizing it in the midst of its confusion.
[Footnote 1: _Herpestes vitticollis_. Mr. W. ELLIOTT, in his _Catalogue
of Mammalia found in the Southern Maharata Country_, Madras, 1840, says,
that "One specimen of this Herpestes was procured by accident in the
Ghat forests in 1829, and is now deposited in the British Museum; it is
very rare, inhabiting only the thickest woods, and its habits are very
little known," p. 9. In Ceylon, it is comparatively common.]
[Footnote 2: The passage in Lucan is a versification of the same
narrative related by Pliny, lib. viii. ch. 35; and AElian, lib. iii. ch.
22.]
"Aspidas ut Pharias cauda solertior hostis
Ludit, et iratas incerta provocat umbra:
Obliquusque caput vanas serpentis in auras
Effusae toto comprendit guttura morsu
Letiferam citra saniem; tune irrita pestis
Exprimitur, faucesque fluunt pereunte veneno."
_Pharsalia_, lib. iv. v. 729.
The mystery of the mongoos and its antidote has been referred to the
supposition that there may be some peculiarity in its organisation which
renders it _proof against_ the poison of the serpent. It remains for
future investigation to determine how far this conjecture is founded in
truth; and whether in the blood of the mongoos there exists any element
or quality which acts as a prophylactic. Such exceptional provisions are
not without precedent in the animal oeconomy: the hornbill feeds with
impunity on the deadly fruit of the strychnos; the milky juice of some
species of euphorbia, which is harmless to oxen, is invariably fatal to
the zebra; and the tsetse fly, the pest of South Africa, whose bite is
mortal to the ox, the dog, and the horse, is harmless to man and the
untamed creatures of the forest.[1]
[Footnote 1: Dr. LIVINGSTONE, _Tour in S. Africa_, p. 80. Is it a fact
that in America, pigs extirpate the rattlesnakes with impunity?]
The Singhalese distinguish one species of mongoos, which they designate
"_Hotambeya_," and which they assert never preys upon serpents. A writer
in the _Ceylon Miscellany_ mentions, that they are often to be seen
"crossing rivers and frequenting mud-brooks near Chilaw; the adjacent
thickets affording them shelter, and their food consisting of aquatic
reptiles, crabs, and mollusca."[1]
[Footnote 1: This is possibly the "musbilai" or mouse-cat of Behar,
which preys upon birds and fish. Could it be the Urva of the Nepalese
(_Urva cancrivora_, Hodgson), which Mr. Hodgson describes as dwelling in
burrows, and being carnivorous and ranivorous?--Vide _Journ. As. Soc.
Beng._, vol. vi. p. 56.]
IV. RODENTIA. _Squirrels_.--Smaller animals in great numbers enliven the
forests and lowland plains with their graceful movements. Squirrels[1],
of which there are a great variety, make their shrill metallic call
heard at early morning in the woods, and when sounding their note of
warning on the approach of a civet or a tree-snake, the ears tingle with
the loud trill of defiance, which rings as clear and rapid as the
running down of an alarum, and is instantly caught up and re-echoed from
every side by their terrified playmates.
[Footnote 1: Of two kinds which frequent the mountains, one which is
peculiar to Ceylon was discovered by Mr. Edgar L. Layard, who has done
me the honour to call it the _Sciurus Tennentii_. Its dimensions are
large, measuring upwards of two feet from head to tail. It is
distinguished from the _S. macrurus_ by the predominant black colour of
the upper surface of the body, with the exception of a rusty spot at the
base of the ears.]
One of the largest, belonging to a closely allied subgenus, is known as
the "Flying Squirrel,"[1] from its being assisted in its prodigious
leaps from tree to tree, by the parachute formed by the skin of the
flanks, which on the extension of the limbs front and rear, is laterally
expanded from foot to foot. Thus buoyed up in its descent, the spring
which it is enabled to make from one lofty tree to another resembles the
flight of a bird rather than the bound of a quadruped. Of these pretty
creatures there are two species, one common to Ceylon and India, the
other (_Sciuropterus Layardii_, Kelaart) is peculiar to the island, and
is by far the most beautiful of the family.
[Footnote 1: Pteromys oral., _Tickel_. P. petaurista, _Pallas_.]
_Rats_.--Among the multifarious inhabitants to which the forest affords
at once a home and provender is the tree rat[1], which forms its nest on
the branches, and by turns makes its visits to the dwellings of the
natives, frequenting the ceilings in preference to the lower parts of
houses. Here it is incessantly followed by the rat-snake[2], whose
domestication is encouraged by the native servants, in consideration of
its services in destroying vermin. I had one day an opportunity of
surprising a snake which had just seized on a rat of this description,
and of covering it suddenly with a glass shade, before it had time to
swallow its prey. The serpent, which appeared stunned by its own
capture, allowed the rat to escape from its jaws, which cowered at one
side of the glass in the most pitiable state of trembling terror. The
two were left alone for some moments, and on my return to them the snake
was as before in the same attitude of sullen stupor. On setting them at
liberty, the rat bounded towards the nearest fence; but quick as
lightning it was followed by its pursuer, which seized it before it
could gain the hedge, through which I saw the snake glide with its
victim in its jaws.
[Footnote 1: There are two species of the tree rat in Ceylon: M.
rufescens, _Gray_; (M. flavescens; _Elliot_;) and Mus nemoralis,
_Blyth_.]
[Footnote 2: Coryphodon Blumenbachii.]
Another indigenous variety of the rat is that which made its appearance
for the first time in the coffee plantations on the Kandyan hills in the
year 1847, and in such swarms does it infest them, that as many as a
thousand have been killed in a single day on one estate. In order to
reach the buds and blossoms of the coffee, it cuts such slender
branches, as would not sustain its weight, and feeds as they fall to the
ground; and so delicate and sharp are its incisors, that the twigs thus
destroyed are detached by as clean a cut as if severed with a knife. The
coffee-rat[1] is an insular variety of the _Mus hirsutus_ of W. Elliot,
found in Southern India. They inhabit the forests, making their nests
among the roots of the trees, and like the lemmings of Norway and
Lapland, they migrate in vast numbers on the occurrence of a scarcity of
their ordinary food. The Malabar coolies are so fond of their flesh,
that they evince a preference for those districts in which the coffee
plantations are subject to these incursions, where they fry the rats in
oil, or convert them into curry.
[Footnote 1: Golunda Ellioti, _Gray_.]
_Bandicoot_.--Another favourite article of food with the coolies is the
pig-rat or Bandicoot[1], which attains on those hills the weight of two
or three pounds, and grows to nearly the length of two feet. As it feeds
on grain and roots, its flesh is said to be delicate, and much
resembling young pork. Its nests, when rifled, are frequently found to
contain considerable quantities of rice, stored up against the dry
season.
[Footnote 1: Mus bandicota, _Beckst_. The English term bandicoot is a
corruption of the Telinga name _pandikoku_, literally _pig-rat_.]
_Porcupine_.--The Porcupine[1] is another of the _rodentia_ which has
drawn down upon itself the hostility of the planters, from its
destruction of the young coco-nut palms, to which it is a pernicious and
persevering, but withal so crafty, a visitor, that it is with difficulty
any trap can be so disguised, or any bait made so alluring, as to lead
to its capture. The usual expedient is to place some of its favourite
food at the extremity of a trench, so narrow as to prevent the porcupine
turning, whilst the direction of his quills effectually bars his
retreat. On a newly planted coco-nut tope, at Hang-welle, within a few
miles of Colombo, I have heard of as many as twenty-seven being thus
captured in a single night; but such success is rare. The more ordinary
expedient is to smoke them out by burning straw at the apertures of
their burrows. The flesh is esteemed a delicacy in Ceylon, and in
consistency, colour, and flavour, it very much resembles that of a young
pig.
[Footnote 1: Hystrix leucurus, _Sykes_.]
V. EDENTATA, _Pengolin._--Of the _Edentata_ the only example in Ceylon
is the scaly ant-eater, called by the Singhalese, Caballaya, but usually
known by its Malay name of _Pengolin_[1], a word indicative of its
faculty of "rolling itself up" into a compact ball, by bending its head
towards its stomach, arching its back into a circle, and securing all by
a powerful fold of its mail-covered tail. The feet of the pengolin are
armed with powerful claws, which they double in in walking like the
ant-eater of Brazil. These they use in extracting their favourite food,
the termites, from ant-hills and decaying wood. When at liberty, they
burrow in the dry ground to a depth of seven or eight feet, where they
reside in pairs, and produce annually one or two young.
[Footnote 1: Manis pentadactyla, _Linn._]
Of two specimens which I kept alive at different times, one from the
vicinity of Kandy, about two feet in length, was a gentle and
affectionate creature, which, after wandering over the house in search
of ants, would attract attention to its wants by climbing up my knee,
laying hold of my leg with its prehensile tail. The other, more than
double that length, was caught in the jungle near Chilaw, and brought to
me in Colombo. I had always understood that the pengolin was unable to
climb trees; but the one last mentioned frequently ascended a tree in my
garden, in search of ants, and this it effected by means of its hooked
feet, aided by an oblique grasp of the tail. The ants it seized by
extending its round and glutinous tongue along their tracks. In both,
the scales of the back were a cream-coloured white, with a tinge of red
in the specimen which came from Chilaw, probably acquired by the
insinuation of the Cabook dust which abounds along the western coast of
the island. Generally speaking, they were quiet during the day, and grew
restless as evening and night approached.
VI. RUMINATA. _The Gaur._--Besides the deer and some varieties of the
humped ox, which have been introduced from the opposite continent of
India, Ceylon has probably but one other indigenous _ruminant_., the
buffalo.[1] There is a tradition that the gaur, found in the extremity
of the Indian peninsula, was at one period a native of the Kandyan
mountains; but as Knox speaks of one which in his time "was kept among
the king's creatures" at Kandy[2], and his account of it tallies with
that of the _Bos Gaurus_ of Hindustan, it would appear even then to have
been a rarity. A place between Neuera-ellia and Adam's Peak bears the
name of Gowra-ellia, and it is not impossible that the animal may yet be
discovered in some of the imperfectly explored regions of the island.[3]
I have heard of an instance in which a very old Kandyan, residing in the
mountains near the Horton Plains, asserted that when young he had seen
what he believed to have been a gaur, and which he described as between
an elk and a buffalo in size, dark brown in colour, and very scantily
provided with hair.
[Footnote 1: Bubalus buffelus; _Gray_.]
[Footnote 2: _Historical Relation of Ceylon, &c._, A.D. 1681. Book i. c,
6.]
[Footnote 3: KELAART, _Fauna Zeylan_., p. 87.]
_Oxen_.--Oxen are used by the peasantry both in ploughing and in
tempering the mud in the wet paddi fields before sowing the rice; and
when the harvest is reaped they "tread out the corn," after the
immemorial custom of the East. The wealth of the native chiefs and
landed proprietors frequently consists in their herds of bullocks, which
they hire out to their dependents during the seasons for agricultural
labour; and as they already supply them with land to be tilled, and lend
the seed which is to crop it, the further contribution of this portion
of the labour serves to render the dependence of the peasantry on the
chiefs and head-men complete.
The cows are worked equally with the oxen; and as the calves are always
permitted to suck them, milk is an article which the traveller can
rarely hope to procure in a Kandyan village. From their constant
exposure at all seasons, the cattle in Ceylon, both those employed in
agriculture and on the roads, are subject to the most devastating
murrains, which sweep them away by thousands. So frequent is the
recurrence of these calamities, and so extended their ravages, that they
exercise a serious influence over the commercial interests of the
colony, by reducing the facilities of agriculture, and augmenting the
cost of carriage during the most critical periods of the coffee season.
A similar disorder, probably peripneumonia, frequently carries off the
cattle in Assam and other hill countries on the continent of India; and
there, as in Ceylon, the inflammatory symptoms in the lungs and throat,
and the internal derangement and external eruptive appearances, seem to
indicate that the disease is a feverish influenza, attributable to
neglect and exposure in a moist and variable climate; and that its
prevention might be hoped for, and the cattle preserved by the simple
expedient of more humane and considerate treatment, especially by
affording them cover at night.
During my residence in Ceylon an incident occurred at Neuera-ellia,
which invested one of these pretty animals with an heroic interest. A
little cow, belonging to an English gentleman, was housed, together with
her calf, near the dwelling of her owner, and being aroused during the
night by her furious bellowing, the servants, on hastening to the stall,
found her goring a leopard, which had stolen in to attack the calf. She
had got him into a corner, and whilst lowing incessantly to call for
help, she continued to pound him with her horns. The wild animal,
apparently stupified by her unexpected violence, was detained by her
till despatched by a gun.
_The Buffalo_.--Buffaloes abound in all parts of Ceylon, but they are
only to be seen in their native wildness in the vast solitudes of the
northern and eastern provinces, where rivers, lagoons, and dilapidated
tanks abound. In these they delight to immerse themselves, till only
their heads appear above the surface; or, enveloped in mud to protect
themselves from the assaults of insects, luxuriate in the long sedges by
the water margins.
When the buffalo is browsing, a crow will frequently be seen stationed
on his back, engaged in freeing it from the ticks and other pests which
attach themselves to his leathery hide, the smooth brown surface of
which, unprotected by hair, shines with an unpleasant polish in the
sunlight. When in motion he throws back his clumsy head till the huge
horns rest on his shoulders, and the nose is presented in a line with
the eyes. When wild they are at all times uncertain in disposition, but
so frequently savage that it is never quite safe to approach them, if
disturbed in their pasture or alarmed from their repose in the shallow
lakes. On such occasions they hurry into line, draw up in defensive
array, with a few of the oldest bulls in advance; and, wheeling in
circles, their horns clashing with a loud sound as they clank them
together in their rapid evolutions, the herd betakes itself to flight.
Then forming again at a safer distance, they halt as before, elevating
their nostrils, and throwing back their heads to take a cautious survey
of the intruders. The sportsman rarely molests them, so huge a creature
affording no worthy mark for his skill, and their wanton slaughter
adding nothing to the supply of food for their assailant.
In the Hambangtotte country, where the Singhalese domesticate the
buffaloes, and use them to assist in the labour of the rice lands, the
villagers are much annoyed by the wild ones, which mingle with the tame
when sent out to the woods to pasture; and it constantly happens that a
savage stranger, placing himself at the head of the tame herd, resists
the attempts of the owners to drive them homewards at sunset. In the
districts of Putlam and the Seven Corles, buffaloes are generally used
for draught; and in carrying heavy loads of salt from the coast towards
the interior, they drag a cart over roads which would defy the weaker
strength of bullocks.
In one place between Batticaloa and Trincomalie I found the natives
making an ingenious use of them when engaged in shooting water-fowl in
the vast salt marshes and muddy lakes. Being an object to which the
birds are accustomed, the Singhalese train the buffalo to the sport,
and, concealed behind, the animal browsing listlessly along, they guide
it by ropes attached to its horns, and thus creep undiscovered within
shot of the flock. The same practice prevails, I believe, in some of the
northern parts of India, where they are similarly trained to assist the
sportsman in approaching deer. One of these "sporting buffaloes" sells
for a considerable sum.
The buffalo, like the elk, is sometimes found in Ceylon as an albino,
with purely white hair and pink iris. There is a peculiarity in the
formation of its foot, which, though it must have attracted attention, I
have never seen mentioned by naturalists. It is equivalent to an
arrangement that distinguishes the foot of the reindeer from that of the
stag and the antelope. In them, the hoofs, being constructed for
lightness and flight, are compact and vertical; but, in the reindeer,
the joints of the tarsal bones admit of lateral expansion, and the broad
hoofs curve upwards in front, while the two secondary ones behind (which
are but slightly developed in the fallow deer and others of the same
family) are prolonged till, in certain positions, they are capable of
being applied to the ground, thus adding to the circumference and
sustaining power of the foot. It has been usually suggested as the
probable design of this structure, that it is to enable the reindeer to
shovel under the snow in order to reach the lichens beneath it; but I
apprehend that another use of it has been overlooked, that of
facilitating its movements in search of food by increasing the
difficulty of its sinking in the snow.
A formation precisely analogous in the buffalo seems to point to a
corresponding design. The ox, whose life is spent on firm ground, has
the bones of the foot so constructed as to afford the most solid support
to an animal of its great weight; but in the buffalo, which delights in
the morasses on the margins of pools and rivers, the formation of the
foot resembles that of the reindeer. The tarsi in front extend almost
horizontally from the upright bones of the leg, and spread widely on
touching the ground; the hoofs are flattened and broad, with the
extremities turned upwards; and the false hoofs descend behind till, in
walking, they make a clattering sound. In traversing the marshes, this
combination of abnormal incidents serves to give extraordinary breadth
to the foot, and not only prevents the buffalo from sinking
inconveniently in soft ground[1], but at the same time presents no
obstacle to the withdrawal of his foot from the mud.
[Footnote 1: PROFESSOR OWEN has noticed a similar fact regarding the
rudiments of the second and fifth digits in the instance of the elk and
bison, which have them largely expanded where they inhabit swampy
ground; whilst they are nearly obliterated in the camel and dromedary,
which traverse arid deserts.--OWEN _on Limbs_, p. 34; see also BELL _on
the Hand_, ch. iii.]
_Deer_.--"Deer," says the truthful old chronicler, Robert Knox, "are in
great abundance in the woods, from the largeness of a cow to the
smallness of a hare, for here is a creature in this land no bigger than
the latter, though every part rightly resembleth a deer: it is called
_meminna_, of a grey colour, with white spots and good meat."[1] The
little creature which thus dwelt in the recollection of the old man, as
one of the memorials of his long captivity, is the small "musk deer"[2]
so called in India, although neither sex is provided with a musk-bag;
and the Europeans in Ceylon know it by the name of the moose deer. Its
extreme length never reaches two feet; and of those which were
domesticated about my house, few exceeded ten inches in height, their
graceful limbs being of similar delicate proportion. It possesses long
and extremely large tusks, with which it inflicts a severe bite. The
interpreter moodliar of Negombo had a _milk white_ meminna in 1847,
which he designed to send home as an acceptable present to Her Majesty,
but it was unfortunately killed by an accident.[3]
[Footnote 1: KNOX'S _Relation, &c_., book i. c. 6.]
[Footnote 2: Moschus meminna.]
[Footnote 3: When the English took possession of Kandy, in 1803, they
found "five beautiful milk-white deer in the palace, which was noted as
a very extraordinary thing."--_Letter_ in Appendix to PERCIVAL'S
_Ceylon_, p. 428. The writer does not say of what species they were.]
_Ceylon Elk_.--In the mountains, the Ceylon elk[1], which reminds one of
the red deer of Scotland, attains the height of four or five feet; it
abounds in all places which are intersected by shady rivers; where,
though its hunting affords an endless resource to the sportsmen, its
venison scarcely equals in quality the inferior beef of the lowland ox.
In the glades and park-like openings that diversify the great forests of
the interior, the spotted Axis troops in herds as numerous as the fallow
deer in England; and, in journeys through the jungle, when often
dependent on the guns of our party for the precarious supply of the
table, we found the flesh of the Axis[2] and the Muntjac[3] a sorry
substitute for that of the pea-fowl, the jungle-cock, and flamingo. The
occurrence of albinos is very frequent in troops of the axis. Deer's
horns are an article of export from Ceylon, and considerable quantities
are annually sent to the United Kingdom.
[Footnote 1: Rusa Aristotelis. Dr. GRAY has lately shown that this is
the great _axis_ of Cuvier.--_Oss. Foss._ 502, t. 39, f. 10. The
Singhalese, on following the elk, frequently effect their approaches by
so imitating the call of the animal as to induce them to respond. An
instance occurred during my residence in Ceylon, in which two natives,
whose mimicry had mutually deceived them, crept so close together in the
jungle that one shot the other, supposing the cry to proceed from the
game.]
[Footnote 2: Axis maculata, _H. Smith_.]
[Footnote 3: Stylocerus muntjac, _Horsf_.]
VII. PACHYDERMATA. _The Elephant._--The elephant and the wild boar, the
Singhalese "waloora," are the only representatives of the
_pachydermatous_ order. The latter, which differs in no respect from the
wild boar of India, is found in droves in all parts of the island where
vegetation and water are abundant. The elephant, the lord paramount of
the Ceylon forests, is to be met with in every district, on the confines
of the woods, in whose depths he finds concealment and shade during the
hours when the sun is high, and from which he emerges only at twilight
to wend his way towards the rivers and tanks, where he luxuriates till
dawn, when he again seeks the retirement of the deep forests. This noble
animal fills so dignified a place both in the zoology and oeconomy of
Ceylon, and his habits in a state of nature have been so much
misunderstood, that I shall devote a separate section to his defence
from misrepresentation, and to an exposition of what, from observation
and experience, I believe to be his genuine character when free in his
native domains.
VIII. CETACEA.--Among the Cetacea the occurrence of the Dugong[1] on
various points of the coast, and especially on the western side of the
island, will be noticed elsewhere; and whales are so frequently seen
that they have been captured within sight of Colombo, and more than once
their carcases, after having been flinched by the whalers, have floated
on shore near the light-house, tainting the atmosphere within the fort
by their rapid decomposition.
[Footnote 1: _Halicore dugong_, F. Cuv.]
From this sketch of the Mammalia it will be seen that, in its general
features, this branch of the Fauna bears a striking resemblance to that
of Southern India, although many of the larger animals of the latter are
unknown in Ceylon; and, on the other hand, some species discovered there
are altogether peculiar to the island. A deer[1] as large as the Axis,
but differing from it in the number and arrangement of its spots, has
been described by Dr. Kelaart, to whose vigilance the natural history of
Ceylon is indebted, amongst others, for the identification of two new
species of monkeys[2], a number of curious shrews[3], and an
orange-coloured ichneumon[4], before unknown. There are also two
descriptions of squirrels[5] that have not as yet been discovered
elsewhere, one of them belonging to those equipped with a parachute[6],
as well as some local varieties of the palm squirrel (Sciurus
penicillatus, _Leach_).[7]
[Footnote 1: Cervus orizus, KELAART, _Prod. F. Zeyl_., p. 83.]
[Footnote 2: Presbytes ursinus, _Blyth_, and P. Thersites, _Elliot_.]
[Footnote 3: Sorex montanus, S. ferrugineus, and Feroculus macropus.]
[Footnote 4: Herpestes fulvescens, KELAART, _Prod. Fann. Zeylan_., App.
p. 42.]
[Footnote 5: Sciurus Tennentii, _Layard_.]
[Footnote 6: Sciuropterus Layardi, _Kelaart_.]
[Footnote 7: There is a rat found only in the Cinnamon Gardens at
Colombo, Mus Ceylonus, _Kelaart_; and a mouse which Dr. Kelaart
discovered at Trincomalie, M. fulvidi-ventris, _Blyth_, both peculiar to
Ceylon. Dr. TEMPLETON has noticed a little shrew (Corsira purpurascens,
_Mag. Nat. Hist_. 1855, p. 238) at Neuera-ellia, not as yet observed
elsewhere.]
But the Ceylon Mammalia, besides wanting a number of minor animals found
in the Indian peninsula, cannot boast such a ruminant as the majestic
Gaur[1], which inhabits the great forests from Cape Comorin to the
Himalaya; and, providentially, the island is equally free of the
formidable tiger and the ferocious wolf of Hindustan.
[Footnote 1: Bos cavifrons, _Hodgs_, B. frontalis, _Lamb_.]
The Hyena and Cheetah[1], common in Southern India, are unknown in
Ceylon; and though abundant in deer, the island possesses no example of
the Antelope or the Gazelle.
[Footnote 1: Felis jubata, _Schreb_.]
_List of Ceylon Mammalia._
A list of the Mammalia of Ceylon is subjoined. In framing it, as well as
the lists appended to other chapters on the Fauna of the island, the
principal object in view has been to exhibit the extent to which its
natural history had been investigated, and collections made up to the
period of my leaving the colony in 1850. It has been considered
expedient to exclude a few individuals which have not had the advantage
of a direct comparison with authentic specimens, either at Calcutta or
in England. This will account for the omission of a number which have
appeared in other catalogues, but of which many, though ascertained to
exist, have not been submitted to this rigorous process of
identification.
The greater portion of the species of mammals and birds contained in
these lists will be found, with suitable references to the most accurate
descriptions, in the admirable catalogue of the collection at the India
House, now in course of publication under the care of Dr. Horsfield.
This work cannot be too highly extolled, not alone for the scrupulous
fidelity with which the description of each species is referred to its
first discoverer, but also for the pains which have been taken to
elaborate synonymes and to collate from local periodicals and other
sources, little accessible to ordinary inquirers, such incidents and
traits as are calculated to illustrate characteristics and habits.
Quadrumana.
Presbytes cephalopterus, _Zimm_.
ursinus, _Blyth_.
Priamus, _Elliot_ & _Blyth_.
Thersites, _Blyth_.
Macacus pileatus, _Shaw_ & _Desm_.
Loris gracilis, _Geoff_.
Cheiroptera.
Pteropus Edwardsii, _Geoff_.
Leschenaultii, _Dum_.
Cynopterus marginatus, _Hamilt_.
Megaderma spasma, _Linn_.
lyra, _Geoff_.
Rhinolophus _affinis, Horsf_.
Hipposideros murinus, _Elliot_.
speoris, _Elliot_.
armiger, _Hodgs_.
vulgaris, _Horsf_.
Kerivoula picta, _Pall_.
Taphozous longimanus, _Hardw_.
Scotophilus Coromandelicus, _F. Cuv_.
_adversus, Horsf_.
Temminkii, _Horsf_.
Tickelli, _Blyth_.
Heathii.
Carnivora.
Sorex coerulescens, _Shaw_.
ferrugincus, _Kelaart_.
serpentarius, _Is. Geoff_.
montanus, _Kelaart_.
Feroculus macropus, _Kelaart_.
Ursus labiatus, _Blainv_.
Lutra nair, _F. Cuv_.
Canis aureus, _Linn_.
Viverra Indica, _Geoff., Hodgs_.
Cynictis Maccarthiae, _Gray_.
Herpestes vitticollis, _Benn_.
griseus, _Gm_.
Smithii, _Gray_.
fulvescens, _Kelaart_.
Paradoxurus typus, _F. Cuv_.
Ceylonicus, _Pall_.
Felis pardus, _Linn_.
chaus, _Guldens_.
viverrinus, _Benn_.
Rodentia.
Sciurus macrurus, _Forst_.
Tennentii, _Layard_.
penicillatus, _Leach_.
trilineatus, _Waterh_.
Sciuropterus Layardi, _Kelaart_.
Pteromys petaurista, _Pall_.
Mus bandicota, _Bechst_.
Kok, _Gray_.
rufescens, _Gray_.
nemoralis, _Blyth_.
Indicus, _Geoff_.
fulvidiventris, _Blyth_.
Nesoki _Hardwickii, Gray_.
Golunda Neuera, _Kelaart_.
Ellioti, _Gray_.
Gerbillus Indicus, _Hardw_.
Lepus nigricollis, _F. Cuv._
Hystrix leucurus, _Sykes_.
Edentata.
Manis pentadactyla, _Linn._
Pachydermata.
Elephas Indicus, _Linn._
Sus Indicus, _Gray_.
_Zeylonicus, Blyth_.
Ruminantia.
Moschus meminna, _Erxl_.
Stylocerus muntjac, _Horsf_.
Axis maculata, _H. Smith_.
Rusa Aristotelis, _Cuv_.
Cetacea.
Halicore dugung, _F. Cuv_.
NOTE (A.)
_Parasite of the Bat_.
One of the most curious peculiarities connected with the bats is their
singular parasite, the Nycteribia.[1] On cursory observation, this
creature appears to have neither head, antennae, eyes, nor mouth; and the
earlier observers of its structure assured themselves that the place of
the latter was supplied by a cylindrical sucker, which, being placed
between the shoulders, the creature had no option but to turn on its
back to feed. This apparent inconvenience was thought to have been
compensated for by another anomaly: its three pairs of legs, armed with
claws, being so arranged that they seemed to be equally distributed over
its upper and under sides, the creature being thus enabled to use them
like hands, and to grasp the strong hairs above it while extracting its
nourishment. It moves by rolling itself rapidly along, rotating like a
wheel on the extremities of its spokes, or like the clown in a pantomime
hurling himself forward on hands and feet alternately. Its celerity is
so great that Colonel Montague, who was one of the first to describe it
minutely[2], says its speed exceeds that of any known insect, and as its
joints are so flexible as to yield in every direction (like what
mechanics call a "ball and socket"), its motions are exceedingly
grotesque as it tumbles through the fur of the bat.
[Footnote 1: This extraordinary creature had formerly been discovered
only on a few European bats. Joinville figured one which he found on the
large roussette (the flying-fox), and says he had seen another on a bat
of the same family. Dr. Templeton observed them in Ceylon in great
abundance on the fur of the _Scotophilus Coromandelicus_, and they will,
no doubt, be found on many others.]
[Footnote 2: Celeripes vespertilionis, _Mont. Lin. Trans_, xi. p. 11.]
To enable it to attain its marvellous velocity, each foot is armed with
two sharp hooks, with elastic pads opposed to them, so that the hair can
not only be rapidly seized and firmly held, but as quickly disengaged as
the creature whirls away in its headlong career.
The insects to which it hears the nearest affinity are the
_Hippoboscidae_ or "spider flies," that infest birds and horses, but,
unlike them, it is unable to fly.
Its strangest peculiarity, and that which gave rise to the belief that
it is headless, is its faculty when at rest of throwing back its head
and pressing it close between its shoulders till the under side becomes
uppermost, not a vestige of head being discernible where we would
naturally look for it, and the whole seeming but a casual inequality on
its back.
On closer examination this apparent tubercle is found to have a leathery
attachment like a flexible neck, and by a sudden jerk the little
creature is enabled to project it forward into its normal position, when
it is discovered to be furnished with a mouth, antennae, and four eyes,
two on each side.
The organisation of such an insect is a marvellous adaptation of
physical form to special circumstances. As the nycteribia has to make
its way through fur and hairs, its feet are furnished with prehensile
hooks that almost convert them into hands; and being obliged to conform
to the sudden flights of its patron, and accommodate itself to inverted
positions, all attitudes are rendered alike to it by the arrangement of
its limbs, which enables it, after every possible gyration, to find
itself always on its feet.
CHAP. II.
BIRDS.
Of the _Birds_ of the island, upwards of three hundred and twenty
species have been indicated, for which we are indebted to the
persevering labours of Dr. Templeton, Dr. Kelaart, and Mr. Layard; but
many yet remain to be identified. In fact, to the eye of a stranger,
their prodigious numbers, and especially the myriads of waterfowl which,
notwithstanding the presence of the crocodiles, people the lakes and
marshes in the eastern provinces, form one of the marvels of Ceylon.
In the glory of their plumage, the birds of the interior are surpassed
by those of South America and Northern India; and the melody of their
song will bear no comparison with that of the warblers of Europe, but
the want of brilliancy is compensated by their singular grace of form,
and the absence of prolonged and modulated harmony by the rich and
melodious tones of their clear and musical calls. In the elevations of
the Kandyan country there are a few, such as the robin of
Neuera-ellia[1] and the long-tailed thrush[2], whose song rivals that of
their European namesakes; but, far beyond the attraction of their notes,
the traveller rejoices in the flute-like voices of the Oriole, the
Dayal-bird[3], and some others equally charming; when, at the first dawn
of day, they wake the forest with their clear _reveille_.
[Footnote 1: Pratincola atrata, _Kelaart_.]
[Footnote 2: Kittacincla macroura, _Gm_.]
[Footnote 3: Copsychus saularis, _Linn_. Called by the Europeans in
Ceylon the "Magpie Robin." This is not to be confounded with the other
popular favourite, the "Indian Robin" (Thamnobia fulicata, _Linn_.),
which is "never seen in the unfrequented jungle, but, like the coco-nut
palm, which the Singhalese assert will only flourish within the sound of
the human voice, it is always found near the habitations of men."--E.L.
LAYARD.]
It is only on emerging from the dense forests, and coming into the
vicinity of the lakes and pasture of the low country, that birds become
visible in great quantities. In the close jungle one occasionally hears
the call of the copper-smith[1], or the strokes of the great
orange-coloured woodpecker[2] as it beats the decaying trees in search
of insects, whilst clinging to the bark with its finely-pointed claws,
and leaning for support upon the short stiff feathers of its tail. And
on the lofty branches of the higher trees, the hornbill[3] (the toucan
of the East), with its enormous double casque, sits to watch the motions
of the tiny reptiles and smaller birds on which it preys, tossing them
into the air when seized, and catching them in its gigantic mandibles as
they fall.[4] The remarkable excrescence on the beak of this
extraordinary bird may serve to explain the statement of the Minorite
friar Odoric, of Portenau in Friuli, who travelled in Ceylon in the
fourteenth century, and brought suspicion on the veracity of his
narrative by asserting that he had there seen "_birds with two
heads_."[5]
[Footnote 1: The greater red-headed Barbet (Megalaima indica, _Lath_.;
M. Philippensis, _var. A. Lath_.), the incessant din of which resembles
the blows of a smith hammering a cauldron.]
[Footnote 2: Brachypternus aurantius, _Linn_.]
[Footnote 3: Buceros pica, _Scop_.; B. coronata, _Bodd_. The natives
assert that B. pica builds in holes in the trees, and that when
incubation has fairly commenced, the female takes her seat on the eggs,
and the male closes up the orifice by which she entered, leaving only a
small aperture through which he feeds his partner, whilst she
successfully guards their treasures from the monkey tribes; her
formidable bill nearly filling the entire entrance. See a paper by Edgar
L. Layard, Esq. _Mag. Nat. Hist._ March, 1853. Dr. Horsfield had
previously observed the same habit in a species of Buceros in Java. (See
HORSFIELD and MOORE'S _Catal. Birds_, E.I. Comp. Mus. vol. ii.) It is
curious that a similar trait, though necessarily from very different
instincts, is exhibited by the termites, who literally build a cell
round the great progenitrix of the community, and feed her through
apertures.]
[Footnote 4: The hornbill is also frugivorous, and the natives assert
that when endeavouring to detach a fruit, if the stem is too tough to be
severed by his mandibles, he flings himself off the branch so as to add
the weight of his body to the pressure of his beak. The hornbill abounds
in Cuttack, and bears there the name of "Kuchila-Kai," or Kuchila-eater,
from its partiality for the fruit of the Strychnus nux-vomica. The
natives regard its flesh as a sovereign specific for rheumatic
affections.--_Asiat. Res._ ch. xv. p. 184.]
[Footnote 5: _Itinerarius_ FRATRIS ODORICI, de Foro Julii de
Portu-vahonis.--HAKLUYT, vol. ii. p. 39.]
As we emerge from the deep shade and approach the park-like openings on
the verge of the low country, quantities of pea-fowl are to be found
either feeding amongst the seeds and nuts in the long grass or sunning
themselves on the branches of the surrounding trees. Nothing to be met
with in demesnes in England can give an adequate idea either of the size
or the magnificence of this matchless bird when seen in his native
solitudes. Here he generally selects some projecting branch, from which
his plumage may hang free of the foliage, and, if there be a dead and
leafless bough, he is certain to choose it for his resting-place, whence
he droops his wings and suspends his gorgeous train, or spreads it in
the morning sun to drive off the damps and dews of the night.
In some of the unfrequented portions of the eastern province, to which
Europeans rarely resort, and where the pea-fowl are unmolested by the
natives, their number is so extraordinary that, regarded as game, it
ceases to be a "sport" to destroy them; and their cries at early morning
are so tumultuous and incessant as to banish sleep, and amount to an
actual inconvenience. Their flesh is excellent when served up hot,
though it is said to be indigestible; but, when cold, it contracts a
reddish and disagreeable tinge.
But of all, the most astonishing in point of multitude, as well as the
most interesting from their endless variety, are the myriads of aquatic
birds and waders which frequent the lakes and watercourses; especially
those along the coast near Batticaloa, between the mainland and the sand
formations of the shore, and the innumerable salt marshes and lagoons to
the south of Trincomalie. These, and the profusion of perching birds,
fly-catchers, finches, and thrushes, which appear in the open country,
afford sufficient quarry for the raptorial and predatory
species--eagles, hawks, and falcons--whose daring sweeps and effortless
undulations are striking objects in the cloudless sky.
I. ACCIPITRES. _Eagles_.--The Eagles, however, are small, and as
compared with other countries rare; except, perhaps, the crested
eagle[1], which haunts the mountain provinces and the lower hills,
disquieting the peasantry by its ravages amongst their poultry; and the
gloomy serpent eagle[2], which, descending from its eyrie in the lofty
jungle, and uttering a loud and plaintive cry, sweeps cautiously around
the lonely tanks and marshes, where it feeds upon the reptiles on their
margin. The largest eagle is the great sea Erne[3], seen on the northern
coasts and the salt lakes of the eastern provinces, particularly when
the receding tide leaves bare an expanse of beach, over which it hunts,
in company with the fishing eagle[4], sacred to Siva. Unlike its
companions, however, the sea eagle rejects garbage for living prey, and
especially for the sea snakes which abound on the northern coasts. These
it seizes by descending with its wings half closed, and, suddenly
darting down its talons, it soars aloft again with its writhing
victim.[5]
[Footnote 1: Spizaetus limnaetus, _Horsf_.]
[Footnote 2: Haematornis cheela, _Daud_.]
[Footnote 3: Pontoaetus leucogaster, _Gmel_.]
[Footnote 4: Haliastur indus, _Bodd_.]
[Footnote 5: E.L. Layard. Europeans have given this bird the name of the
"Brahminy Kite," probably from observing the superstitious feeling of
the natives regarding it, who believe that when two armies are about to
engage, its appearance prognosticates victory to the party over whom it
hovers.]
_Hawks_.--The beautiful Peregrine Falcon[1] is rare, but the Kestrel[2]
is found almost universally; and the bold and daring Goshawk[3] wherever
wild crags and precipices afford safe breeding places. In the district
of Anarajapoora, where it is trained for hawking, it is usual, in lieu
of a hood, to darken its eyes by means of a silken thread passed through
holes in the eyelids. The ignoble birds of prey, the Kites[4], keep
close by the shore, and hover round the returning boats of the fishermen
to feast on the fry rejected from their nets.
[Footnote 1: Falco peregrinus, _Linn_.]
[Footnote 2: Tinnunculus alaudarius, _Briss_.]
[Footnote 3: Astur trivirgatus, _Temm_.]
[Footnote 4: Milvus govinda, _Sykes_. Dr. Hamilton Buchanan remarks that
when gorged this bird delights to sit on the entablature of buildings,
exposing its back to the hottest rays of the sun, placing its breast
against the wall, and stretching out its wings _exactly as the Egyptian
Hawk is represented on their monuments_.]
_Owls_.--Of the nocturnal accipitres the most remarkable is the brown
owl, which, from its hideous yell, has acquired the name of the
"Devil-Bird."[l] The Singhalese regard it literally with horror, and its
scream by night in the vicinity of a village is bewailed as the
harbinger of approaching calamity.
[Footnote 1: Syrnium indranee, _Sykes_. The horror of this nocturnal
scream was equally prevalent in the West as in the East. Ovid Introduces
it in his _Fasti_, L. vi. 1. 139; and Tibullus in his Elegies, L.i. El
5. Statius says--
"Nocturnae-que gemunt striges, et feralia bubo
_Danna canens_." Theb. iii. I. 511.
But Pliny, 1. xi. c. 93, doubts as to what bird produced the sound; and
the details of Ovid's description do not apply to an owl.
Mr. Mitford, of the Ceylon Civil Service, to whom I am indebted for many
valuable notes relative to the birds of the island, regards the
identification of the Singhalese Devil-Bird as open to similar doubt: he
says--"The Devil-Bird is not am owl. I never heard it until I came to
Kornegalle, where it haunts the rocky hill at the back of
Government-House. Its ordinary note is a magnificent clear shout like
that of a human being, and which can be heard at a great distance, and
has a fine effect in the silence of the closing night. It has another
cry like that of a hen just caught, but the sounds which have earned for
it its bad name, and which I have heard but once to perfection, are
indescribable, the most appalling that can be imagined, and scarcely to
be heard without shuddering; I can only compare it to a boy in torture,
whose screams are being stopped by being strangled. I have offered
rewards for a specimen, but without success. The only European who had
seen and fired at one agreed with the natives that it is of the size of
a pigeon, with a long tail. I believe it is a Podargus or Night Hawk,"
In a subsequent note he further says--"I have since seen two birds by
moonlight, one of the size and shape of a cuckoo, the other a large
black bird, which I imagine to be the one which gives these calls."]
II. PASSERES. _Swallows_.--Within thirty-five miles of Caltura, on the
western coast, are inland caves, the resort of the Esculent Swift[1],
which there builds the "edible bird's nest," so highly prized in China.
Near the spot a few Chinese immigrants have established themselves, who
rent the royalty from the government, and make an annual export of their
produce. But the Swifts are not confined to this district, and caves
containing them have been found far in the interior, a fact which
complicates the still unexplained mystery of the composition of their
nest; and notwithstanding the power of wing possessed by these birds,
adds something to the difficulty of believing that it consists of
glutinous algae.[2] In the nests brought to me there was no trace of
organisation; and whatever may be the original material, it is so
elaborated by the swallow as to present somewhat the appearance and
consistency of strings of isinglass. The quantity of these nests
exported from Ceylon is trifling.
[Footnote 1: Collocalia brevirostris, _McClell_.; C. nidifica, _Gray_.]
[Footnote 2: An epitome of what has been written on this subject will be
found in _Dr. Horsfield's Catalogue_ of the Birds in the E.I. Comp.
Museum, vol. i. p. 101, etc.]
_Kingfishers_.--In solitary places, where no sound breaks the silence
except the gurgle of the river as it sweeps round the rocks, the lonely
Kingfisher sits upon an overhanging branch, his turquoise plumage hardly
less intense in its lustre than the deep blue of the sky above him; and
so intent is his watch upon the passing fish that intrusion fails to
scare him from his post; the emblem of vigilance and patience.
_Sun Birds_.--In the gardens the Sun Birds[1] (known as the Humming
Birds of Ceylon) hover all day long, attracted by the plants over which
they hang, poised on their glittering wings, and inserting their curved
beaks to extract the tiny insects that nestle in the flowers. Perhaps
the most graceful of the birds of Ceylon in form and motions, and the
most chaste in colouring, is that which Europeans call "the Bird of
Paradise,"[2] and the natives "the Cotton Thief," from the circumstance
that its tail consists of two long white feathers, which stream behind
it as it flies, Mr. Layard says:--"I have often watched them, when
seeking their insect prey, turn suddenly on their perch and _whisk their
long tails with a jerk_ over the bough, as if to protect them from
injury."
[Footnote 1: Nectarina Zeylanica, _Linn_.]
[Footnote 2: Tchitrea paradisi, _Linn_.]
_The Bulbul_.--The _Condatchee Bulbul_[1], which, from the crest on its
head, is called by the Singhalese the "Konda Coorola," or _Tuft bird_,
is regarded by the natives as the most "_game_" of all birds; and the
training it to fight was one of the duties entrusted by the Kings of
Kandy to the Kooroowa, or Bird Head-man. For this purpose the Bulbul is
taken from the nest as soon as the sex is distinguishable by the tufted
crown; and being secured by a string, is taught to fly from hand to hand
of its keeper. When pitted against an antagonist, such is the obstinate
courage of this little creature that it will sink from exhaustion rather
than release its hold. This propensity, and the ordinary character of
its notes, render it impossible that the Bulbul of India can be
identical with the Bulbul of Iran, the "Bird of a Thousand Songs,"[2] of
which poets say that its delicate passion for the rose gives a plaintive
character to its note.
[Footnote 1: Pycnonotus haemorrhous, _Gmel_.]
[Footnote 2: _"Hazardasitaum,"_ the Persian name for the bulbul. "The
Persians," according to Zakary ben Mohamed al Caswini, "say the bulbul
has a passion for the rose, and laments and cries when he sees it
pulled."--OUSELEY'S _Oriental Collections_, vol. i. p. 16. According to
Pallas it is the true nightingale of Europe, Sylvia luscinia, which the
Armenians call _boulboul_, and the Crim-Tartars _byl-byl-i_.]
_Tailor-Bird_.--_The Weaver-Bird_.--The tailor-bird[1] having completed
her nest, sewing together the leaves by passing through them a cotton
thread twisted by the creature herself, leaps from branch to branch to
testify her happiness by a clear and merry note; and the Indian
weaver[2], a still more ingenious artist, having woven its dwelling with
grass something into the form of a bottle, with a prolonged neck, hangs
it from a projecting branch with its entrance inverted so as to baffle
the approaches of its enemies, the tree snakes and other reptiles. The
natives assert that the male bird carries fire flies to the nest,
fastening them to its sides by a particle of soft mud, and Mr. Layard
assures me that although he has never succeeded in finding the fire fly,
the nest of the male bird (for the female occupies another during
incubation) invariably contains a patch of mud on each side of the
perch.
[Footnote 1: Orthotomus longicauda, _Gmel_.]
[Footnote 2: Ploceus baya, _Blyth_; P. Philippinus, _Auct_.]
_Crows_.--Of all the Ceylon birds of this order the most familiar and
notorious is the small glossy crow, whose shining black plumage shot
with blue has obtained for him the title of _Corvus splendens_.[1] They
frequent the towns in companies, and domesticate themselves in the close
vicinity of every house; and it may possibly serve to account for the
familiarity and audacity which they exhibit in their intercourse with
men, that the Dutch during their sovereignty in Ceylon enforced severe
penalties against any one killing a crow, under the belief that they are
instrumental in extending the growth of cinnamon by feeding on the
fruit, and thus disseminating the undigested seed.[2]
[Footnote 1: There is another species, the _C. culminatus_, so called
from the convexity of its bill; but though seen in the towns, it lives
chiefly in the open country, and may be constantly observed wherever
there are buffaloes, perched on their backs and engaged, in company with
the small Minah (_Acridotheres tristis_) in freeing them from ticks.]
[Footnote 2: WOLF'S _Life and Adventures_, p. 117.]
So accustomed are the natives to its presence and exploits, that, like
the Greeks and Romans, they have made the movements of the crow the
basis of their auguries; and there is no end to the vicissitudes of good
and evil fortune which may not be predicted from the direction of their
flight, the hoarse or mellow notes of their croaking, the variety of
trees on which they rest, and the numbers in which they are seen to
assemble. All day long they are engaged in watching either the offal of
the offices, or the preparation for meals in the dining-room; and as
doors and windows are necessarily opened to relieve the heat, nothing is
more common than the passage of crows across the room, lifting on the
wing some ill-guarded morsel from the dinner-table.
No article, however unpromising its quality, provided only it be
portable, can with safety be left unguarded in any apartment accessible
to them. The contents of ladies' work-boxes, kid gloves, and pocket
handkerchiefs vanish instantly if exposed near a window or open door.
They open paper parcels to ascertain the contents; they will undo the
knot on a napkin if it encloses anything eatable, and I have known a
crow to extract the peg which fastened the lid of a basket in order to
plunder the provender within.
On one occasion a nurse seated in a garden adjoining a regimental
mess-room, was terrified by seeing a bloody clasp-knife drop from the
air at her feet; but the mystery was explained on learning that a crow,
which had been watching the cook chopping mince-meat, had seized the
moment when his head was turned to carry off the knife.
One of these ingenious marauders, after vainly attitudinising in front
of a chained watch-dog, which was lazily gnawing a bone, and after
fruitlessly endeavouring to divert his attention by dancing before him,
with head awry and eye askance, at length flew away for a moment, and
returned bringing with it a companion who perched itself on a branch a
few yards in the rear. The crow's grimaces were now actively renewed,
but with no better result, till its confederate, poising himself on his
wings, descended with the utmost velocity, striking the dog upon the
spine with all the force of his beak. The _ruse_ was successful; the dog
started with surprise and pain, but not quickly enough to seize his
assailant, whilst the bone he had been gnawing disappeared the instant
his head was turned. Two well-authenticated instances of the recurrence
of this device came within my knowledge at Colombo, and attest the
sagacity and powers of communication and combination possessed by these
astute and courageous birds.
On the approach of evening the crows assemble in noisy groups along the
margin of the fresh-water lake which surrounds Colombo on the eastern
side; here for an hour or two they enjoy the luxury of the bath, tossing
the water over their shining backs, and arranging their plumage
decorously, after which they disperse, each taking the direction of his
accustomed quarters for the night.[1]
[Footnote 1: A similar habit has been noticed in the damask Parrots of
Africa (_Palaeornis fuscus_), which daily resort at the same hour to
their accustomed water to bathe.]
During the storms which usher in the monsoon, it has been observed, that
when coco-nut palms are struck by lightning, the destruction frequently
extends beyond a single tree, and from the contiguity and conduction of
the spreading leaves, or some other peculiar cause, large groups will be
affected by a single flash, a few killed instantly, and the rest doomed
to rapid decay. In Belligam Bay, a little to the east of Point-de-Galle,
a small island, which is covered with coco-nuts, has acquired the name
of "Crow Island," from being the resort of those birds, which are seen
hastening towards it in thousands towards sunset. A few years ago,
during a violent storm of thunder, such was the destruction of the crows
that the beach for some distance was covered with a black line of their
remains, and the grove on which they had been resting was to a great
extent destroyed by the same flash.[1]
[Footnote 1: Similar instances are recorded in other countries of sudden
mortality amongst crows to a prodigious extent, but whether occasioned
by lightning seems uncertain. In 1839 thirty-three thousand dead crows
were found on the shores of a lake in the county Westmeath in Ireland
after a storm.--THOMPSON'S _Nat. Hist. Ireland_, vol. i. p. 319, and
Patterson in his Zoology, p. 356, mentions other cases.]
III. SCANSORES. _Parroquets_.--Of the Psittacidae the only examples are
the parroquets, of which the most renowned is the _Palaeornis Alexandri_,
which has the historic distinction of bearing the name of the great
conquerer of India, having been the first of its race introduced to the
knowledge of Europe on the return of his expedition. An idea of their
number may be formed from the following statement of Mr. Layard, as to
the multitudes which are found on the western coast. "At Chilaw I have
seen such vast flights of parroquets coming to roost in the coco-nut
trees which overhang the bazaar, that their noise drowned the Babel of
tongues bargaining for the evening provisions. Hearing of the swarms
which resorted to this spot, I posted myself on a bridge some half mile
distant, and attempted to count the flocks which came from a single
direction to the eastward. About four o'clock in the afternoon,
straggling parties began to wend towards home, and in the course of half
an hour the current fairly set in. But I soon found that I had no longer
distinct flocks to count, it became one living screaming stream. Some
flew high in the air till right above their homes, and dived abruptly
downward with many evolutions till on a level with the trees; others
kept along the ground and dashed close by my face with the rapidity of
thought, their brilliant plumage shining with an exquisite lustre in the
sun-light. I waited on the spot till the evening closed, when I could
hear, though no longer distinguish, the birds fighting for their
perches, and on firing a shot they rose with a noise like the 'rushing
of a mighty wind,' but soon settled again, and such a din commenced as I
shall never forget; the shrill screams of the birds, the fluttering of
their innumerable wings, and the rustling of the leaves of the palm
trees, was almost deafening, and I was glad at last to escape to the
Government Rest House."[1]
[Footnote 1: _Annals of Nat. Hist_. vol xiii. p.263.]
IV. COLUMBIDAE. _Pigeons_.--Of pigeons and doves there are at least a
dozen species; some living entirely on trees[1] and never alighting on
the ground; others, notwithstanding the abundance of food and warmth,
are migratory[2], allured, as the Singhalese allege, by the ripening of
the cinnamon berries, and hence one species is known in the southern
provinces as the "Cinnamon Dove." Others feed on the fruits of the
banyan: and it is probably to their instrumentality that this marvellous
tree chiefly owes its diffusion, its seeds being carried by them to
remote localities. A very beautiful pigeon, peculiar to the mountain
range, discovered in the lofty trees at Neuera-ellia, has, in compliment
to the Vicountess Torrington, been named _Carpophaga Torringtoniae._
[Footnote 1: Treron bicenta, _Jerd_.]
[Footnote 2: _Alsocomus puniceus_, the "Season Pigeon" of Ceylon, so
called from its periodical arrival and departure.]
Another, called by the natives _neela-cobeya_[1], although strikingly
elegant both in shape and colour, is still more remarkable far the
singularly soothing effect of its low and harmonious voice. A gentleman
who has spent many years in the jungle, in writing to me of this bird
and of the effects of its melodious song, says, that "its soft and
melancholy notes, as they came from some solitary place in the forest,
were the most gentle sounds I ever listened to. Some sentimental smokers
assert that the influence of the propensity is to make them feel _as if
they could freely forgive all who had ever offended them_, and I can say
with truth such has been the effect on my own nerves of the plaintive
murmurs of the neela-cobeya, that sometimes, when irritated, and not
without reason, by the perverseness of some of my native followers, the
feeling has almost instantly subsided into placidity on suddenly hearing
the loving tones of these beautiful birds."
[Footnote 1: Chalcophaps Indicus, _Linn_.]
V. GALLINAE. _The Ceylon Jungle-fowl_.--The jungle-fowl of Ceylon[1] is
shown by the peculiarity of its plumage to be distinct from the Indian
species. It has never yet bred or survived long in captivity, and no
living specimens have been successfully transmitted to Europe. It
abounds in all parts of the island, but chiefly in the lower ranges of
mountains; and one of the vivid memorials which are associated with our
journeys through the hills, is its clear cry, which sounds like a person
calling "George Joyce." At early morning it rises amidst mist and dew,
giving life to the scenery that has scarcely yet been touched by the
sunlight.
[Footnote 1: Gallus Lafayetti, _Lesson_.]
VI. GRALLAE.--On reaching the marshy plains and shallow lagoons on either
side of the island, the astonishment of the stranger is excited by the
endless multitudes of stilt-birds and waders which stand in long array
within the wash of the water, or sweep in vast clouds above it.
Ibises[1], storks[2], egrets, spoonbills[3], herons[4], and the smaller
races of sand larks and plovers, are seen busily traversing the wet
sand, in search of the red worm which burrows there, or peering with
steady eye to watch the motions of the small fry and aquatic insects in
the ripple on the shore.
[Footnote 1: Tantalus leucocephalus, and Ibis falcinellus.]
[Footnote 2: The violet-headed Stork (Ciconia leucocephala).]
[Footnote 3: Platalea leucorodia, _Linn_.]
[Footnote 4: Ardea cinerea. A. purpurea.]
VII. ANSERES.--Preeminent in size and beauty, the tall _flamingoes_[1],
with rose-coloured plumage, line the beach in long files. The Singhalese
have been led, from their colour and their military order, to designate
them the "_English Soldier birds_." Nothing can be more startling than
the sudden flight of these splendid creatures when alarmed; their strong
wings beating the air sound like distant thunder; and as they soar over
head, the flock which appeared almost white but a moment before, is
converted into crimson by the sudden display of the red lining of their
wings. A peculiarity in the beak of the flamingo has scarcely attracted
due attention, as a striking illustration of creative wisdom in adapting
the organs of animals to their local necessities. The upper mandible,
which is convex in other birds, is in them flattened, whilst the lower,
instead of being flat, is convex. To those who have had an opportunity
of witnessing the action of the bird in its native haunts, the
expediency of this arrangement is at once apparent. The flamingo, to
counteract the extraordinary length of its legs, is provided with a
proportionately long neck, so that in feeding in shallow water the crown
of the head becomes inverted and the upper mandible brought into contact
with the bottom; where its flattened surface qualifies it for performing
the functions of the lower one in birds of the same class; and the edges
of both being laminated, it is thus enabled, like the duck, by the aid
of its fleshy tongue, to sift its food before swallowing.
[Footnote 1: Phoenicopterus roseus, _Pallas_.]
Floating on the surface of the deeper water, are fleets of the Anatidae,
the Coromandel teal[1], the Indian hooded gull[2], the Caspian tern, and
a countless variety of ducks and smaller fowl. Pelicans[3] in great
numbers resort to the mouths of the rivers, taking up their position at
sunrise on some projecting rock, from which to dart on the passing fish,
and returning far inland at night to their retreats among the trees
which overshadow some ruined watercourse or deserted tank.
[Footnote 1: Nettapus Coromandelianus, _Gmel._]
[Footnote 2: Larus brunnicephalus, _Jerd._]
[Footnote 3: Pelicanus Philippensis, _Gmel._]
Of the birds familiar to European sportsmen, partridges and quails are
to be had at all times; the woodcock has occasionally been shot in the
hills, and the ubiquitous snipe, which arrives in September from
Southern India, is identified not alone by the eccentricity of its
flight, but by retaining in high perfection the qualities which have
endeared it to the gastronome at home. But the magnificent pheasants
which inhabit the Himalayan range and the woody hills of the Chin-Indian
peninsula, have no representative amongst the tribes that people the
woods of Ceylon; although a bird believed to be a pheasant has more than
once been seen in the jungle, close to Rambodde, on the road to
Neuera-ellia.
_List of Ceylon Birds_.
In submitting this catalogue of the birds of Ceylon, I am anxious to
state that the copious mass of its contents is mainly due to the
untiring energy and exertions of my friend, Mr. E.L. Layard. Nearly
every bird in the list has fallen by his gun; so that the most ample
facilities have been thus provided, not only for extending the limited
amount of knowledge which formerly existed on this branch of the zoology
of the island; but for correcting, by actual comparison with recent
specimens, the errors which had previously prevailed as to imperfectly
described species. The whole of Mr. Layard's fine collection is at
present in England.
Accipitres.
Aquila Bonelli, _Temm_.
pennata, _Gm_.
Spizaetus Nipalensis, _Hodgs_.
limnaeetus, _Horsf_.
Ictinaetus Malayensis, _Reinw_.
Haematornis cheela, _Daud_.
spilogaster, _Blyth_.
Pontoaetus leucogaster, _Gm_.
ichthyaetus, _Horsf_.
Haliastur Indus, _Bodd_.
Falco peregrinus, _Linn_.
_peregrinator, Sund_.
Tinnunculus alaudarius, _Briss_.
Hypotriorchis chicquera, _Daud_.
Baza lophotes, _Cuv_.
Milvus govinda, _Sykes_.
Elanus melanopterus, _Daud_.
Astur trivirgatus, _Temm_.
Accipiter badius, _Gm_.
Circus Swainsonii, _A. Smith_.
cincrascens, _Mont_.
melanoleucos, _Gm_.
_aeruginosus, Linn._
Athene castonatus, _Blyth_.
scutulata, _Raffles_.
Ephialtes scops, _Linn_.
lempijii, _Horsf_.
sunia, _Hodgs_.
Ketupa Ceylonensis, _Gm_.
Syrnium Indranee, _Sykes_.
Strix Javanica, _Gm_.
Passeres.
Batrachostomus moniliger, _Layard_.
Caprimulgus Mahrattensis, _Sykes_.
Kelaarti, _Blyth_.
Asiaticus, _Lath_.
Cypselus batassiensis, _Gray_.
melba, _Linn_.
affinis, _Gray_.
Macropteryx coronatus, _Tickell_.
Collocalia brevirostris, _McClel_.
Acanthylis caudacuta, _Lath_.
Hirundo panayana, _Gm_.
daurica, _Linn_.
hyperythra, _Layard_.
domicola, _Jerdon_.
Coracias Indica, _Linn_.
Harpactes fasciatus, _Gm_.
Eurystomus orientalis, _Linn_.
Halcyon Capensis, _Linn_.
atricapillus, _Gm_.
Smyrnensis, _Linn_.
Ceyx tridactyla, _Linn_.
Alcedo Bengalensis, _Gm_.
Ceryle rudis, _Linn_.
Merops Philippinus, _Linn_.
viridis, _Linn_.
quincticolor, _Vieill_.
Upupa nigripennis, _Gould_.
Nectarina Zeylanica, _Linn_.
minima, _Sykes_.
Asiatica, _Lath_.
Lotenia, _Linn_.
Dicaeum minimum, _Tickell_.
Phyllornis Malabarica, _Lath_.
Jerdoni, _Blyth_.
Dendrophila frontalis, _Horsf_.
Piprisoma agile, _Blyth_.
Orthotomus longicauda, _Gm_.
Cisticola cursitans, _Frankl_.
omalura, _Blyth_.
Drymoica valida, _Blyth_.
inornata, _Sykes_.
Prinia socialis, _Sykes_.
Acrocephalus dumetorum, _Blyth_.
Phyllopneuste nitidus, _Blyth_.
montanus, _Blyth_.
viridanus, _Blyth_.
Copsychus saularus, _Linn_.
Kittacincla macrura, _Gm_.
Pratincola caprata, _Linn_.
atrata, _Kelaart_.
Calliope cyanea, _Hodgs_.
Thamnobia fulicata, _Linn_.
Cyanecula Suevica, _Linn_.
Sylvia affinis, _Blyth_.
Parus cinereus, _Vieill_.
Zosterops palpebrosus, _Temm_.
Ioera Zeylanica, _Gm_.
typhia, _Linn_.
Motacilla sulphurea, _Bechs_.
Indica, _Gm_.
Madraspatana, _Briss_.
Budytes viridis, _Gm_.
Anthus rufulus, _Vieill_.
Richardii, _Vieill_.
striolatus, _Blyth_.
Brachypteryx Palliseri, _Kelaart_.
Alcippe nigrifrons, _Blyth_.
Pitta brachyura, _Jerd_.
Oreocincla spiloptera, _Blyth_.
Merula Wardii, _Jerd_.
Kinnisii, _Kelaart_.
Zoothera imbricata, _Layard_.
Garrulax cinereifrons, _Blyth_.
Pormatorhinus melanurus, _Blyth_.
Malacocercus rufescens, _Blyth_.
griseus, _Gm_.
striatus, _Swains_.
Pellorneum fuscocapillum, _Blyth_.
Dumetia albogularis, _Blyth_.
Chrysomma Sinense, _Gm_.
Oriolus melanocephalus, _Linn_.
Indicus, _Briss_.
Criniger ictericus, _Stickl_.
Pycnonotus penicillatus, _Kelaart_.
flavirictus, _Strickl_.
haemorrhous, _Gm_.
atricapillus, _Vieill_.
Hemipus picatus, _Sykes_.
Hypsipetes Nilgherriensis, _Jerd_.
Cyornis rubeculoides, _Vig_.
Myiagra azurea, _Bodd_.
Cryptolopha cinereocapilla, _Vieill_.
Leucocerca compressirostris, _Blyth_.
Tchitrea paradisi, _Linn_.
Butalis latirostris, _Raffles_.
Muttui, _Layard_.
Stoparola melanops, _Vig_.
Pericrocotus flammeus, _Forst_.
peregrinus, _Linn_.
Campephaga Macei, _Less_.
Sykesii, _Strickl_.
Artamus fuscus, _Vieill_.
Edolius paradiseus, _Gm_.
Dicrurus macrocereus, _Vieill_.
edoliformis, _Blyth_.
longicaudatus, _A. Hay_.
leucopygialis, _Blyth_.
coerulescens, _Linn_.
Irena puella, _Lath_.
Lanius superciliosus, _Lath_.
erythronotus, _Vig_.
Tephrodornis affinis, _Blyth_.
Cissa puella, _Blyth & Layard_.
Corvus splendens, _Vieille_.
culminatus, _Sykes_.
Eulabes religiosa, _Linn_.
ptilogenys, _Blyth_.
Pastor roseus, _Linn_.
Hetaerornis pagodarum, _Gm_.
_albifrontata, Layard_.
Acridotheres tristis, _Linn_.
Ploceus manyar, _Horsf_.
baya, _Blyth_.
Munia undulata, _Latr_.
_Malabarica, Linn_.
Malacca, _Linn_.
rubronigra, _Hodgs_.
striata, _Linn_.
pectoralis, _Jerd._
Passer Indicus, _Jard. & Selb._
Alauda gulgula, _Frank_.
Malabarica, _Scop_.
Pyrrhulauda grisea, _Scop_.
Mirafra affinis, _Jerd_.
Buceros gingalensis, _Shaw_.
coronata, _Bodd_.
Scansores.
Loriculus Asiaticus, _Lath_.
Palaeornis Alexandri, _Linn_.
torquatus, _Briss_.
cyanocephalus, _Linn_.
Calthropae, _Layard_.
Layardi, _Blyth_.
Megalaima Indica, _Latr_.
Zeylanica, _Gmel_.
flavifrons, _Cuv_.
rubicapilla, _Gm_.
Picus gymnophthalmus, _Blyth._
Mahrattensis, _Lath_.
Macei, _Vieill_.
Gecinus chlorophanes, _Vieill_.
Brachypternus aurantius, _Linn_.
Ceylonus, _Forst_.
_rubescens, Vieill_.
Stricklandi, _Layard_.
Micropterus gularis, _Jerd_.
Centropus rufipennis, _Illiger_.
chlororhynchos, _Blyth_.
Oxylophus melanoleucos, _Gm_.
Coramandus, _Linn_.
Endynamys orientalis, _Linn_.
Cuculus Bartletti, _Layard_.
striatus, _Drapiez_.
canorus, _Linn_.
Polyphasia tenuirostris, _Gray_.
Sonneratii, _Lath_.
Hierococcyx varius, _Vahl_.
Surniculus dicruroides, _Hodgs_.
Phoenicophaus pyrrhocephalus, _Forst_.
Zanclostomus viridirostris, _Jerd_.
Columbae.
Treron bicincta, _Jerd_.
flavogularis, _Blyth_.
Pompadoura, _Gm_.
chlorogaster, _Blyth_.
Carpophaga pusilla, _Blyth_.
Torringtoniae, _Kelaart_.
Alsocomus puniceus, _Tickel_.
Columba intermedia, _Strickl_.
Turtur risorius, _Linn_.
Suratensis, _Lath_.
humilis, _Temm_.
orientalis, _Lath_.
Chalcophaps Indicus, _Linn_.
Gallinae.
Pavo cristatus, _Linn_.
Gallus Lafayetti, _Lesson_.
Galloperdix bicalcaratus, _Linn_.
Francolinus Ponticerianus, _Gm_.
Perdicula agoondah, _Sykes_.
Coturnix Chinensis, _Linn_.
Turnix ocellatus _var._ Bengalensis, _Blyth_.
Turnix ocellatus _var._ taigoor, _Sykes_.
Gralliae.
Esacus recurvirostris, _Cuv_.
Oedienemus crepitans, _Temm_.
Cursorius Coromandelicus, _Gm_.
Lobivanellus bilobus, _Gm_.
Goensis, _Gm_.
Charadrius virginicus, _Bechs_.
Hiaticula Philippensis, _Scop_.
cantiana, _Lath_.
Leschenaultii, _Less_.
Strepsilas interpres, _Linn_.
Ardea purpurea, _Linn_.
cinerea, _Linn_.
asha, _Sykes_.
intermedia, _Wagler_.
garzetta, _Linn_.
alba, _Linn_.
bubulcus, _Savig_.
Ardeola leucoptera, _Bodd_.
Ardetta cinnamomea, _Gm_.
flavicollis, _Lath_.
Sinensis, _Gm_.
Butoroides Javanica, _Horsf_.
Platalea leucorodia, _Linn_.
Nycticorax griseus, _Linn_.
Tigrisoma melanolopha, _Raffl_.
Mycteria australis, _Shaw_.
Leptophilus Javanica, _Horsf_.
Ciconia leucocephala, _Gm_.
Anastomus oscitans, _Bodd_.
Tantalus leucocephalus, _Gm_.
Geronticus melanocephalus, _Lath_.
Ibis falcinellus, _Linn_.
Numenius arquatus, _Linn_.
phoeopus, _Linn_.
Totanus fuscus, _Linn_.
ochropus, _Linn_.
calidris, _Linn_.
hypoleucos, _Linn_.
glottoides, _Vigors_.
stagnalis, _Bechst_.
Actitis glareola, _Gm_.
Tringa minuta, _Leist_.
subarquata, _Gm_.
Limicola platyrhyncha, _Temm_.
Limosa aegocephala, _Linn_.
Himantopus candidus, _Bon_.
Recurvirostra avocetta, _Linn_.
Haematopus ostralegus, _Linn_.
Rhynchoea Bengalensis, _Linn_.
Scolopax rusticola, _Linn_.
Gallinago stenura, _Temm_.
_scolopacina, Bon_.
_gallinula, Linn_.
Hydrophasianus Sinensis, _Gm_.
Ortygometra rubiginosa, _Temm_.
Corethura Zeylanica, _Gm_.
Porzana pygmaea, _Nan_.
Rallus striatus, _Linn_.
Indicus, _Blyth_.
Porphyrio poliocephalus, _Lath_.
Gallinula phoenicura, _Penn_.
chloropus, _Linn_.
cristata, _Lath_.
ANSERES.
Phoenicopterus ruber, _Linn_.
Sarkidiornis melanonotos, _Penn_.
Nettapus Coromandelianus, _Gm_.
Anas poecilorhyncha, _Penn_.
Dendrocygnus arcuatus, _Cuv_.
Dafila acuta, _Linn_.
Querquedula crecca, _Linn_.
circia, _Linn_.
_Fuligula rufina, Pall_.
Spatula clypeata, _Linn_.
Podiceps Philippensis, _Gm_.
Larus brunnicephalus, _Jerd_.
ichthyaetus, _Pall_.
Sylochelidon Caspius, _Lath_.
Hydrochelidon Indicus, _Steph_.
Gelochelidon Anglicus, _Mont_.
Onychoprion anasthaetus, _Scop_.
Sterna Javanica, _Horsf_.
melanogaster, _Temm_.
minuta, _Linn_.
Seena aurantia, _Gray_.
Thalasseus Bengalensis, _Less_.
cristata, _Steph_.
Dromas ardeola, _Payk_.
Atagen ariel, _Gould_.
Thalassidroma _melanogaster, Gould_.
Plotus melanogaster, _Gm_.
Pelicanus Philippensis, _Gm_.
Graculus Sinensis, _Shaw_.
pygmaeus, _Pallas_.
NOTE.
The following is a list of the birds which are, as far as is at present
known, peculiar to the island; it will probably at some future day be
determined that some included in it have a wider geographical range.
Haematornis spilogaster. The "Ceylon eagle;" was discovered by Mr. Layard
in the Wanny, and by Dr. Kelaart at Trincomalie.
Athene castonotus. The chestnut-winged hawk owl. This pretty little owl
was added to the list of Ceylon birds by Dr. Templeton.
Batrachostomus monoliger. The oil bird; was discovered amongst the
precipitous rocks of the Adam's Peak range by Mr. Layrard. Another
specimen was sent about the same time to Sir James Emerson Tennent from
Avisavelle. Mr. Mitford has met with it at Ratnapoora.
Caprimulgus Kelaarti. Kelaart's night-jar; swarms on the marshy plains
of Neuera-ellia at dusk.
Hirundo hyperythra. The red-bellied swallow; was discovered in 1849 by
Mr. Layard at Ambepusse. They build a globular nest with a round hole at
top. A pair built in the ring for a hanging lamp in Dr. Gardner's study
at Peradinia, and hatched their young, undisturbed by the daily trimming
and lighting of the lamp.
Cisticola omalura. Layard's mountain grass warbler; is found in
abundance on Horton Plain and Neuera-ellia, among the long Patena grass.
Drymoica valida. Layard's wren-warbler; frequents tufts of grass and low
bushes, feeding on insects.
Pratincola atrata. The Neuera-ellia robin; a melodious songster; added
to our catalogue by Dr. Kelaart.
Brachypteryx Palliseri. Ant thrush. A rare bird, added by Dr. Kelaart
from Dimboola and Neuera-ellia.
Pellorneum fuscocapillum. Mr. Layard found two specimens of this rare
thrush creeping about shrubs and bushes, feeding on insects.
Alcippe nigrifrons. This thrush frequents low impenetrable thickets, and
seems to be widely distributed.
Oreocincla spiloptera. The spotted thrush is only found in the mountain
zone about lofty trees.
Merula Kinnisii. The Neuera-ellia blackbird; was added by Dr. Kelaart.
Garrulax cinereifrons. The ashy-headed babbler; was found by Mr. Layard
near Ratnapoora.
Pomatorhinus melanurus. Mr. Layard states that the mountain babbler
frequents low, scraggy, impenetrable brush, along the margins of
deserted cheena land.
Malacocercus rufescens. The red-dung thrush added by Dr. Templeton to
the Singhalese Fauna, is found in thick jungle in the southern and
midland districts.
Pycnonotus penicillatus. The yellow-eared bulbul; was found by Dr.
Kelaart at Neuera-ellia.
Butalis Muttui. This very handsome flycatcher was procured at Point
Pedro, by Mr. Layard.
Dicrurus edoliformis. Dr. Templeton found this kingcrow at the Bibloo
Oya. Mr. Layard has since got it at Ambogammoa.
Dicrurus leucopygialis. The Ceylon kingcrow was sent to Mr. Blyth from
the vicinity of Colombo, by Dr. Templeton.
Tephrodornis affinis. The Ceylon butcher-bird. A migratory species found
in the wooded grass lands in October.
Cissa puella. Layard's mountain jay. A most lovely bird, found along
mountain streams at Neuera-ellia and elsewhere.
Enlabes ptilogenys. Templeton's mynah. The largest and most beautiful of
the species. It is found in flocks perching on the highest trees,
feeding on berries.
Loriculus asiaticus. The small parroquet, abundant in various districts.
Palaeornis Calthropae. Layard's purple-headed parroquet, found at Kandy,
is a very handsome bird, flying in flocks, and resting on the summits of
the very highest trees. Dr. Kelaart states that it is the only parroquet
of the Neuera-ellia range.
Palaeornis Layardi. The Jaffna parroquet was discovered by Mr. Layard at
Point Pedro.
Megalaima flavifrons. The yellow-headed barbet, is not uncommon.
Megalaima rubricapilla, is found in most parts of the island.
Picus gymnophthalmus. Layard's woodpecker. The smallest of the species,
was discovered near Colombo, amongst jak trees.
Brachypternus Ceylonus. The Ceylon woodpecker, is found in abundance
near Neuera-ellia.
Brachypternus rubescens. The red woodpecker.
Centropus chlororhynchus. The yellow-billed cuckoo, was detected by Mr.
Layard in dense jungle near Colombo and Avisavelle.
Phoenicophaus pyrrhocephalus. The malkoha, is confined to the southern
highlands.
Treron flavogularis. The common green pigeon, is found in abundance at
the top of Balacaddua Pass and at Ratnapoora. It feeds on berries and
flies in large flocks. It was believed to be identical with the
following.--_Mag. Nat. Hist._ p. 58: 1854.
Treron Pompadoura. The Pompadour pigeon. "The Prince of Canino has shown
that this is a totally distinct bird, much smaller, with the quantity of
maroon colour on the mantle greatly reduced."--Paper by Mr. BLYTH, _Mag.
Nat Hist._ p. 514: 1857.
Carpophaga Torringtoniae. Lady Torrington's pigeon; a very handsome
pigeon discovered in the highlands by Dr. Kelaart. It flies high in long
sweeps, and makes its nest on the loftiest trees.
Carpophaga pusilla. The little-hill dove, a migratory species found by
Mr. Layard in the mountain zone, only appearing with the ripened fruit
of the teak, banyan, &c., on which they feed.
Gallus Lafayetti. The Ceylon jungle fowl. The female of this handsome
bird was figured by Mr. GRAY (_Ill. Ind. Zool._) under the name of G.
Stanleyi. The cock bird had long been lost to naturalists, until a
specimen was forwarded to Mr. Blyth, who at once recognised it as the
long-looked for male of Mr. Gray's recently described female. It is
abundant in all the uncultivated portions of Ceylon; coming out into the
open spaces to feed in the mornings and evenings.
CHAP. III.
REPTILES.
LIZARDS. _Iguana_.--One of the earliest if not the first remarkable
animal to startle a stranger on arriving in Ceylon, whilst wending his
way from Point-de-Galle to Colombo, is a huge lizard of from four to
five feet in length, the Talla-goya of the Singhalese, and Iguana[1] of
the Europeans. It may be seen at noonday searching for ants and insects
in the middle of the highway and along the fences; when disturbed, but
by no means alarmed, by the approach of man, it moves off to a safe
distance; and, the intrusion being over, returns again to the occupation
in which it had been interrupted. Repulsive as it is in appearance, it
is perfectly harmless, and is hunted down by dogs in the maritime
provinces, where its delicate flesh is converted into curry, and its
skin into shoes. When seized, it has the power of inflicting a smart
blow with its tail. The Talla-goya lives in almost any convenient
hollow, such as a hole in the ground, or the deserted nest of the
termites; and home small ones which frequented my garden at Colombo,
made their retreat in the heart of a decayed tree. A still larger
species, the Kabragoya[2], which is partial to marshy ground, when
disturbed upon land, will take refuge in the nearest water. From the
somewhat eruptive appearance of the yellow blotches on its scales, a
closely allied species, similarly spotted, formerly obtained amongst
naturalists the name of _Monitor exanthemata_, and it is curious that
the native appellation of this one, Kabra[3], is suggestive of the same
idea. The Singhalese, on a strictly homoeopathic principle, believe that
its fat, externally applied, is a cure for cutaneous disorders, but that
inwardly taken it is poisonous.[4] It is one of the incidents which seem
to indicate that Ceylon belongs to a separate circle of physical
geography, this lizard has not hitherto been discovered on the continent
of Hindustan, though it is found to the eastward in Burmah.[5]
[Footnote 1: Monitor dracaena, _Linn_. Among the barbarous nostrums of
the uneducated natives both Singhalese and Tamil, is the tongue of the
iguana, which they regard as a specific for consumption, if plucked from
the living animal and swallowed whole.]
[Footnote 2: Hydrosaurus salvator, _Wagler_.]
[Footnote 3: In the _Mahawanso_ the hero, Tisso, is said to have been
"afflicted with a cutaneous complaint which, made his skin scaly like
that of the _godho_."--Ch. xxiv. p. 148. "Godho" is the Pali name for
the Kabra-goya.]
[Footnote 4: In the preparation of the mysterious poison, the
_Cobra-tel_, which is regarded with so much horror by the Singhalese;
the unfortunate Kabra-goya is forced to take a painfully prominent part.
The receipt, as written down by a Kandyan, was sent to me from
Kornegalle, by Mr. Morris, in 1840; and in dramatic arrangement it far
outdoes the cauldron of _Macbeth's_ witches. The ingredients are
extracted from venomous snakes, the Cobra de Capello (from which it
takes its name), the Carawella, and the Tic prolonga, by making an
incision in the head and suspending the reptiles over a chattie to
collect the poison. To this, arsenic and other drugs are added, and the
whole is to be "boiled in a human skull, with the aid of the three
Kabra-goyas, which are tied on three sides of the fire, with their heads
directed towards it, and tormented by whips to make them hiss, so that
the fire may blaze. The froth from their lips is then to be added to the
boiling mixture, and so soon as an oily scum rises to the surface, the
_cobra-tel_ is complete."
Although it is obvious that the arsenic is the main ingredient in the
poison, Mr. Morris reported to me that this mode of preparing it was
actually practised in his district; and the above account was
transmitted by him apropos to the murder of a Mohatal and his wife,
which was then under investigation, and which had been committed with
the _cobra-tel_. Before commencing the operation of preparing the
poison, a cock is first sacrificed to the yakkos or demons.]
[Footnote 5: In corroboration of the view propounded elsewhere (see pp.
7, 84, &c.), and opposed to the popular belief that Ceylon, at some
remote period, was detached from the continent of India by the
interposition of the sea, a list of reptiles will be found at p. 203,
including, not only individual species, but whole genera peculiar to the
island, and not to be found on the mainland. See a paper by DR. A.
GUENTHER on _The Geog. Distribution of Reptiles_, Magaz. Nat. Hist. for
March, 1859, p. 230.]
_Blood-suckers_.--These, however, are but the stranger's introduction to
innumerable varieties of lizards, all most attractive in their sudden
movements, and some unsurpassed in the brilliancy of their colouring,
which bask on banks, dart over rocks, and peer curiously out of the
decaying chinks of every ruined wall. In all their motion there is that
vivid and brief energy, the rapid but restrained action which is
associated with their limited power of respiration, and which justifies
the accurate picture of--
"The green lizard, rustling thro' the grass,
And up the fluted shaft, _with short, quick, spring_
To vanish in the chinks which time has made."[1]
[Footnote 1: ROGERS' _Paestum_.]
One of the most beautiful of this race is the _green calotes_[1], in
length about twelve inches, which, with the exception of a few dark
streaks about the head, is as brilliant as the purest emerald or
malachite. Unlike its congeners of the same family, it never alters this
dazzling hue, whilst many of them possess the power, like the chameleon,
but in a less degree, of exchanging their ordinary colours for others
less conspicuous. The _C. ophiomachus_, and another, the _C.
versicolor_, exhibit this faculty in a remarkable manner. The head and
neck, when the animal is irritated or hastily swallowing its food,
becomes of a brilliant red (whence the latter has acquired the name of
the "blood-sucker"), whilst the usual tint of the rest of the body is
converted into pale yellow. The _sitana_[2], and a number of others,
exhibit similar phenomena.
[Footnote 1: Calotes viridis, _Gray_.]
[Footnote 2: Sitana Ponticereana, _Cuv_.]
_Chameleon_.--The true chameleon[1] is found, but not in great numbers,
in the dry districts in the north of Ceylon, where it frequents the
trees, in slow pursuit of its insect prey. Whilst the faculty of this
creature to blush all the colours of the rainbow has attracted the
wonder of all ages, sufficient attention has hardly been given to the
imperfect sympathy which subsists between the two lobes of the brain,
and the two sets of nerves which permeate the opposite sides of its
frame. Hence, not only have each of the eyes an action quite independent
of the other, but one side of its body would appear to be sometimes
asleep whilst the other is vigilant and active: one will assume a green
tinge whilst the opposite one is red; and it is said that the chameleon
is utterly unable to swim, from the incapacity of the muscles of the two
sides to act in concert.
[Footnote 1: Chamaelio vulgaris, _Daud_.]
_Ceratophora_.--A unique lizard, and hitherto known only by two
specimens, one in the British Museum, and another in that of Leyden, is
the _Ceratophora Stoddartii_, distinguished by the peculiarity of its
having no external ear, whilst its muzzle bears on its extremity the
horn-like process from which it takes its name. It has recently been
discovered by Dr. Kelaart to be a native of the higher Kandyan hills,
where it is sometimes seen in the older trees in pursuit of sect
larvae.[1]
[Footnote 1: Dr. Kelaart has likewise discovered at Neuera-ellia a
_Salea_, distinct from the S. Jerdoni.]
_Geckoes_.--But the most familiar and attractive of the class are the
_Geckoes_[1], which frequent the sitting-rooms, and being furnished with
pads to each toe, are enabled to ascend perpendicular walls and adhere
to glass and ceilings. Being nocturnal in their habits, the pupil of the
eye, instead of being circular as in the diurnal species, is linear and
vertical like those of the cat. As soon as evening arrives, they emerge
from the chinks and recesses where they conceal themselves during the
day, in search of insects which retire to settle for the night, and are
to be seen in every house in keen and crafty pursuit of their prey. In a
boudoir where the ladies of my family spent their evenings, one of these
familiar and amusing little creatures had its hiding-place behind a gilt
picture frame, and punctually as the candles were lighted, it made its
appearance on the wall to be fed with its accustomed crumb; and, if
neglected, it reiterated its sharp quick call of _chic, chic, chit_,
till attended to. It was of a delicate grey colour, tinged with pink;
and having by accident fallen on a work-table, it fled, leaving its tail
behind it, which, however, it reproduced within less than a month. This
faculty of reproduction is doubtless designed to enable the creature to
escape from its assailants: the detaching of the limb is evidently its
own act; and it is observable, that when reproduced, the tail generally
exhibits some variation from its previous form, the diverging spines
being absent, the new portion covered with small square uniform scales
placed in a cross series, and the scuta below being seldom so distinct
as in the original member.[2] In an officer's quarters in the fort of
Colombo, a Geckoe had been taught to come daily to the dinner-table, and
always made its appearance along with the dessert. The family were
absent for some months, during which the house underwent extensive
repairs, the roof having been raised, the walls stuccoed, and ceilings
whitened. It was naturally surmised that so long a suspension of its
accustomed habits would have led to the disappearance of the little
lizard; but on the return of its old friends, at their first dinner it
made its entrance as usual the instant the cloth had been removed.
[Footnote 1: Hemidactylus maculatus, _Dum_. et _Bib., Gray_; H.
Leschenaultii, _Dum_. et _Bib_.; H. frenatus, _Schlegel_.]
[Footnote 2: _Brit. Mus. Cat_. p. 143; KELAART'S Prod. Faun. Zeylan. p.
183.]
_Crocodile_.--The Portuguese in India, like the Spaniards in South
America, affixed the name of _lagarto_ to the huge reptiles which infest
the rivers and estuaries of both continents; and to the present day the
Europeans in Ceylon apply the term _alligator_ to what are in reality
_crocodiles_, which literally swarm in the still waters and tanks
throughout the northern provinces, but rarely frequent rapid streams,
and have never been found in the marshy elevations among the hills.
Their instincts in Ceylon present no variation from their habits in
other countries. There would appear to be two well-distinguished species
in the island, the _Allie Kimboola_[1], the Indian crocodile, which
inhabits the rivers and estuaries throughout the low countries of the
coasts, attaining the length of sixteen or eighteen feet, and which will
assail man when pressed by hunger; and the Marsh crocodile[2], which
lives exclusively in fresh water, frequenting the tanks in the northern
and central provinces, and confining its attacks to the smaller animals:
in length it seldom exceeds twelve or thirteen feet. Sportsmen complain
that their dogs are constantly seized by both species; and water-fowl,
when shot, frequently disappear before they can be secured by the
fowler.[3] The Singhalese believe that the crocodile can only move
swiftly on sand or smooth clay, its feet being too tender to tread
firmly on hard or stony ground. In the dry season, when the watercourses
begin to fail and the tanks become exhausted, the Marsh crocodiles are
sometimes encountered wandering in search of water in the jungle; but
generally, during the extreme drought, when unable to procure their
ordinary food from the drying up of the watercourses, they bury
themselves in the mud, and remain in a state of torpor till released by
the recurrence of the rains.[4] At Arne-tivoe, in the eastern province,
whilst riding across the parched bed of the tank, I was shown the
recess, still bearing the form and impress of the crocodile, out of
which the animal had been seen to emerge the day before. A story was
also related to me of an officer attached to the department of the
Surveyor-General, who, having pitched his tent in a similar position,
had been disturbed during the night by feeling a movement of the earth
below his bed, from which on the following day a crocodile emerged,
making its appearance from beneath the matting.[5]
[Footnote 1: Crocodilus biporcatus. _Cuvier._]
[Footnote 2: Crocodilus palustris, _Less_.]
[Footnote 3: In Siam the flesh of the crocodile is sold for food in the
markets and bazaars. "Un jour je vis plus de cinquante crocodiles,
petits et grands, attaches aux colonnes de leurs maisons. Ils les
vendent la chair comme on vendrait de la chair de porc, mais a bien
meilleur marche."--PALLEGOIX, _Siam_, vol. i. p. 174.]
[Footnote 4: HERODOTUS records the observations of the Egyptians that
the crocodile of the Nile abstains from food during the four winter
months.--_Euterpe_, lviii.]
[Footnote 5: HUMBOLDT relates a similar story as occurring at Calabazo,
in Venezuela.--_Personal Narrative_, c. xvi.]
The species which inhabits the fresh water is essentially cowardly in
its instincts, and hastens to conceal itself on the appearance of man. A
gentleman (who told me the circumstance), when riding in the jungle,
overtook a crocodile, evidently roaming in search of water. It fled to a
shallow pool almost dried by the sun, and, thrusting its head into the
mud till it covered up its eyes, it remained unmoved in profound
confidence of perfect concealment. In 1833, during the progress of the
Pearl Fishery, Sir Robert Wilmot Horton employed men to drag for
crocodiles in a pond which was infested with them in the immediate
vicinity of Aripo. The pool was about fifty yards in length, by ten or
twelve wide, shallowing gradually to the edge, and not exceeding four or
five feet in the deepest part. As the party approached the bund, from
twenty to thirty reptiles, which had been basking in the sun, rose and
fled to the water. A net, specially weighted so as to sink its lower
edge to the bottom, was then stretched from bank to bank and swept to
the further end of the pond, followed by a line of men with poles to
drive the crocodiles forward: so complete was the arrangement, that no
individual could evade the net, yet, to the astonishment of the
Governor's party, not one was to be found when it was drawn on shore,
and no means of escape was apparent or possible except descending into
the mud at the bottom of the pond.[1]
[Footnote 1: A remarkable instance of the vitality of the common
crocodile, _C. biporcatus_, was related to me by a gentleman at Galle:
he had caught on a baited hook an unusually large one, which his coolies
disembowelled, the aperture in the stomach being left expanded by a
stick placed across it. On returning in the afternoon with a view to
secure the head, they found that the creature had crawled for some
distance, and made its escape into the water.]
TESTUDINATA. _Tortoise_,--Of the _testudinata_ the land tortoises are
numerous, but present no remarkable features beyond the beautiful
marking of the starred variety[1], which is common, in the north-western
province around Putlam and Chilaw, and is distinguished by the bright
yellow rays which diversify the deep black of its dorsal shield. From
one of these which was kept in my garden I took a number of flat ticks
(_Ixodes_), which adhered to its fleshy neck in such a position as to
baffle any attempt of the animal itself to remove them; but as they were
exposed to constant danger of being crushed against the plastron during
the protrusion and retraction of the head, each was covered with a horny
case almost as resistant as the carapace of the tortoise itself. Such an
adaptation of structure is scarcely less striking than that of the
parasites found on the spotted lizard of Berar by Dr. Hooker, each of
which presented the distinct colour of the scale to which it adhered.[2]
[Footnote 1: Testudo stellata, _Schweig_.]
[Footnote 2: HOOKER'S _Himalayan Journals_, vol. i. p. 37.]
The marshes and pools of the interior are frequented by the
terrapins[1], which the natives are in the habit of keeping alive in
wells under the conviction that they clear them of impurities. The
edible turtle[2] is found on all the coasts of the island, and sells for
a few shillings or a few pence, according to its size and abundance at
the moment. At certain seasons the turtle on the south-western coast of
Ceylon is avoided as poisonous, and some lamentable instances are
recorded of death which was ascribed to their use. At Pantura, to the
south of Colombo, twenty-eight persons who had partaken of turtle in
October, 1840, were seized with sickness immediately, after which coma
succeeded, and eighteen died during the night. Those who survived said
there was nothing unusual in the appearance of the flesh except that it
was fatter than ordinary. Other similarly fatal occurrences have been
attributed to turtle curry; but as they have never been proved to
proceed exclusively from that source, there is room for believing that
the poison may have been contained in some other ingredient. In the Gulf
of Manaar turtle is frequently found of such a size as to measure
between four and five feet in length; and on one occasion, in riding
along the sea-shore north of Putlam, I saw a man in charge of some
sheep, resting under the shade of a turtle shell, which he had erected
on sticks to protect him from the sun--almost verifying the statement of
AElian, that in the seas off Ceylon there are tortoises so large that
several persons may find ample shelter beneath a single shell.[3]
[Footnote 1: _Emyda Ceylonensis_, GRAY, _Catalogue_, p. 64, tab. 29 a.;
_Mag. Nat. Hist._ p. 265: 1856. Dr. KELAART, in his _Prodromus_ (p.
179), refers this to the common Indian species, _E. punctata_; but Dr.
Gray has shown it to be a distinct one. It is generally distributed in
the lower parts of Ceylon, in lakes and tanks. It is put into wells to
act the part of a scavenger. By the Singhalese it is named _Kiri-ibba_.]
[Footnote 2: Chelonia virgata, _Schweig_.]
[Footnote 3: "Tiktontai de ara en taute te thalatte, kai chelonai
megintai, onper oun ta elytra orophoi ginontai kai gar esti kai
mentekaideka pechon en cheloneion, hos hypoikein ouk oligous, kai tous
helious pyroiestatous apostegei, kai skian asmetois parechei."--Lib.
xvi. c. 17. AElian copied this statement literatim from MEGASTHENES,
_Indica Frag_. lix. 31; and may not Megasthenes have referred to some
tradition connected with the gigantic fossilised species discovered on
the Sewalik Hills, the remains of which are now in the Museum at the
East India House?]
The hawksbill turtle[1], which supplies the tortoise-shell of commerce,
was at former times taken in great numbers in the vicinity of
Hambangtotte during the season when they came to deposit their eggs, and
there is still a considerable trade in this article, which is
manufactured into ornaments, boxes, and combs by the Moormen resident at
Galle. If taken from the animal after death and decomposition, the
colour of the shell becomes clouded and milky, and hence the cruel
expedient is resorted to of seizing the turtles as they repair to the
shore to deposit their eggs, and suspending them over fires till heat
makes the plates on the dorsal shields start from the bone of the
carapace, after which the creature is permitted to escape to the
water.[2] In illustration of the resistless influence of instinct at the
period of breeding, it may be mentioned that the same tortoise is
believed to return again and again to the same spot, notwithstanding
that at each visit she had to undergo a repetition of this torture. In
the year 1826, a hawksbill turtle was taken near Hambangtotte, which
bore a ring attached to one of its fins that had been placed there by a
Dutch officer thirty years before, with a view to establish the fact of
these recurring visits to the same beach.[3]
[Footnote 1: Chelonia imbricata; _Linn_.]
[Footnote 2: At Celebes, whence the finest tortoise-shell is exported to
China, the natives kill the turtle by blows on the head, and immerse the
shell in boiling water to detach the plates. Dry heat is only resorted
to by the unskilful, who frequently destroy the tortoise-shell in the
operation.--_Journ. Indian Archipel._ vol. iii. p. 227, 1849.]
[Footnote 3: BENNETT'S _Ceylon_, ch. xxxiv.]
_Snakes_.--It is perhaps owing to the aversion excited by the ferocious
expression and unusual action of serpents, combined with an instinctive
dread of attack, that exaggerated ideas prevail both as to their numbers
in Ceylon, and the danger to be apprehended from encountering them. The
Singhalese profess to distinguish a great many kinds, of which not more
than one half have as yet been scientifically identified; but so
cautiously do serpents make their appearance, that the surprise of long
residents is invariably expressed at the rarity with which they are to
be seen; and from my own journeys, through the jungle, often of two to
five hundred miles, I have frequently returned without seeing a single
snake.[1] Davy, whose attention was carefully directed to the poisonous
serpents of Ceylon[2], came to the conclusion that but _four_, out of
twenty species examined by him, were venomous, and that of these only
two (the _tic-polonga[3]_ and _cobra de capello_[4]) were capable of
inflicting a wound likely to be fatal to man. The third is the
_caraicilla_[5], a brown snake of about twelve inches in length; and for
the fourth, of which only a few specimens have been, procured, the
Singhalese have no name in their vernacular,--a proof that it is neither
deadly nor abundant.
[Footnote 1: Mr. Bennett, who resided much in the south-east of the
island, ascribes the rarity of serpents in the jungle to the abundance
of the wild peafowl, whose partiality to snakes renders them the chief
destroyers of these reptiles.]
[Footnote 2: See DAVY'S _Ceylon_, ch. xiv.]
[Footnote 3: Dabois elegans, _Grey_.]
[Footnote 4: Naja tripadians, _Gunther_.]
[Footnote 5: Trigonocephalus hypnale, _Wegl_.]
_Cobra de Capello_.--The cobra de capello is the only one exhibited by
the itinerant snake-charmers: and the accuracy of Davy's conjecture,
that they control it, not by extracting its fangs, but by courageously
availing themselves of its accustomed timidity and extreme reluctance to
use its fatal weapons, received a painful confirmation during my
residence in Ceylon, by the death of one of these performers, whom his
audience had provoked to attempt some unaccustomed familiarity with the
cobra; it bit him on the wrist, and he expired the same evening. The
hill near Kandy, on which the official residences of the Governor and
Colonial Secretary had been built, is covered in many places with the
deserted nests of the white ants (_termites_), and these are the
favourite retreats of the sluggish and spiritless cobra, which watches
from their apertures the toads and lizards on which it preys. Here, when
I have repeatedly come upon them, their only impulse was concealment;
and on one occasion, when a cobra of considerable length could not
escape sufficiently quickly, owing to the bank being nearly precipitous
on both sides of the road, a few blows from my whip were sufficient to
deprive it of life. There is a rare variety which the natives fancifully
designate the "king of the cobras;" it has the head and the anterior
half of the body of so light a colour, that at a distance it seems like
a silvery white.[1] A gentleman who held a civil appointment at
Kornegalle, had a servant who was bitten by a snake, and he informed me
that on enlarging a hole near the foot of the tree under which the
accident occurred, he unearthed a cobra of upwards of three feet long,
and so purely white as to induce him to believe that it was an albino.
With the exception of the rat-snake[2], the cobra de capello is the only
serpent which seems from choice to frequent the vicinity of human
dwellings, but it is doubtless attracted by the young of the domestic
fowl and by the moisture of the wells and drainage. The Singhalese
remark that if one cobra be destroyed near a house, its companion is
almost certain to be discovered immediately after,--a popular belief
which I had an opportunity of verifying on more than one occasion. Once,
when a snake of this description was killed in a bath of Government
House at Colombo, its mate was found in the same spot the day after; and
again, at my own stables, a cobra of five feet long, having fallen into
the well, which was too deep to permit its escape, its companion of the
same size was found the same morning in an adjoining drain.[3] On this
occasion the snake, which had been several hours in the well, swam with
ease, raising its head and hood above water; and instances have
repeatedly occurred of the cobra de capello voluntarily taking
considerable excursions by sea. When the "Wellington," a government
vessel employed in the conservancy of the pearl banks, was anchored
about a quarter of a mile from land, in the bay of Koodremale, a cobra
was seen, about an hour before sunset, swimming vigorously towards the
ship. It came within twelve yards, when the sailors assailed it with
billets of wood and other missiles, and forced it to return to land. The
following morning they discovered the track which it had left on the
shore, and traced it along the sand till it disappeared in the
jungle.[4] On a later occasion, in the vicinity of the same spot, when
the "Wellington" was lying at some distance from the shore, a cobra was
found and killed on board, where it could only have gained access by
climbing up the cable. It was first discovered by a sailor, who felt the
chill as it glided over his foot.[5]
[Footnote 1: A Singhalese work, the _Sarpa Doata_, quoted in the _Ceylon
Times_, January, 1857, enumerates four species of the cobra;--the
_raja_, or king; the _velyander_, or trader; the _baboona_, or hermit;
and the _goore_, or agriculturist. The young cobras, it says, are not
venomous till after the thirteenth day, when they shed their coat for
the first time.]
[Footnote 2: Coryphodon Blumenbachii. WOLF, in his interesting story of
his _Life and Adventures in Ceylon_, mentions that rat-snakes were often
so domesticated by the natives as to feed at their table. He says: "I
once saw an example of this in the house of a native. It being meal
time, he called his snake, which immediately came forth from the roof
under which he and I were sitting. He gave it victuals from his own
dish, which the snake took of itself from off a fig-leaf that was laid
for it, and ate along with its host. When it had eaten its fill, he gave
it a kiss and bade it go to its hole."
Since the above was written, Major Skinner, writing to me 12th Dec.
1858, mentions the still more remarkable case of the domestication of
the cobra de capello in Ceylon. "Did you ever hear," he says, "of tame
cobras being kept and domesticated about a house, going in and out at
pleasure, and in common with the rest of the inmates? In one family,
near Negombo, cobras are kept as protectors, in the place of dogs, by a
wealthy man who has always large sums of money in his house. But this is
not a solitary case of the kind. I heard of it only the other day, but
from undoubtedly good authority. The snakes glide about the house, a
terror to thieves, but never attempting to harm the inmates."]
[Footnote 3: PLINY notices the affection that subsists between the male
and female asp; and that if one of them happens to be killed, the other
seeks to avenge its death.--Lib. viii. c. 37.]
[Footnote 4: STEWART'S _Account of the Pearl Fisheries of Ceylon_, p. 9:
Colombo, 1843.
The Python reticulatus (the "rock-snake") has been known like the cobra
de capello, to make short voyages at sea. One was taken on board H.M.S.
"Hastings," when off the coast of Burmah, in 1853; it is now in the
possession of the surgeon, Dr. Scott.]
[Footnote 5: SWAINSON, in his _Habits and Instincts of Animals_, c. iv.
p. 187, says that instances are well attested of the common English
snake having been met with in the open channel; between the coast of
Wales and the island of Anglesea, as if they had taken their departure
from the one and were bound for the other.]
In BENNETT'S account of "_Ceylon and its Capabilities_" there is a
curious piece of Singhalese folk-lore, to the effect, that the cobra de
capello every time it expends its poison _loses a joint of its tail_,
and eventually acquires a head which resembles that of a toad. A recent
discovery of Dr. Kelaart has thrown light on the origin of this popular
fallacy. The family of "false snakes" (_pseudo-typhlops_), as Schlegel
names the group, have till lately consisted of but three species, one
only of which was known to inhabit Ceylon. They belong to a family
intermediate between the lizards and serpents with the body of the
latter, and the head of the former, with which they are moreover
identified by having the upper jaw fixed to the skull as in mammals and
birds, instead of movable as amongst the true ophidians. In this they
resemble the amphisbaenidae; but the tribe of _Uropeltidae_, or "rough
tails," has the further peculiarity, that the tail is truncated, instead
of ending, like that of the typhlops, in a point more or less acute; and
the reptile assists its own movements by pressing the flat end to the
ground. Within a very recent period an important addition has been made
to this genus, by the discovery of five new species in Ceylon; in some
of which the singular construction of the tail is developed to an extent
much more marked than in any previously existing specimen. One of these,
the _Uropeltis grandis_ of Kelaart, is distinguished by its dark brown
colour, shot with a bluish metallic lustre, closely approaching the
ordinary shade of the cobra; and the tail is abruptly and flatly
compressed as though it had been severed by a knife. The form of this
singular reptile will be best understood by a reference to the
accompanying figure; and there can be, I think, little doubt that to its
strange and anomalous structure is to be traced the fable of the
transformation of the cobra de capello. The colour alone would seem to
identify the two reptiles, but the head and mouth are no longer those of
a serpent, and the disappearance of the tail might readily suggest the
mutilation which the tradition asserts.
[Illustration: UROPELTIS GRANDIS]
The Singhalese Buddhists, in their religious abstinence from inflicting
death on any creature, are accustomed, after securing a venomous snake,
to enclose it in a basket of woven palm leaves, and to set it afloat on
a river. During my residence in Ceylon, I never heard of the death of a
European which was caused by the bite of a snake; and in the returns of
coroners' inquests which were made officially to my department, such
accidents to the natives appear chiefly to have happened at night, when
the animal having been surprised or trodden on, had inflicted the wound
in self-defence.[1] For these reasons the Singhalese, when obliged to
leave their houses in the dark, carry a stick with a loose ring, the
noise[2] of which as they strike it on the ground is sufficient to warn
the snakes to leave their path.
[Footnote 1: In a return of 112 coroners' inquests, in cases of death
from wild animals, held in Ceylon in five years, from 1851 to 1855
inclusive, 68 are ascribed to the bites of serpents; and in almost every
instance the assault is set down as having taken place _at night_. The
majority of the sufferers were children and women.]
[Footnote 2: PLINY notices that the serpent has the sense of hearing
more acute than that of sight; and that it is more frequently put in
motion by the sound of footsteps than by the appearance of the intruder,
"excitatur pede saepius."--Lib. viii. c. 36.]
_The Python_.--The great python[1] (the "boa," as it is commonly
designated by Europeans, the "anaconda" of Eastern story), which is
supposed to crush the bones of an elephant, and to swallow the tiger, is
found, though not of so portentous dimensions, in the cinnamon gardens
within a mile of the fort of Colombo, where it feeds on hog-deer and
other smaller animals.
[Footnote 1: Python reticulatus, _Gray_.]
The natives occasionally take it alive, and securing it to a pole expose
it for sale as a curiosity. One which was brought to me in this way
measured seventeen feet with a proportionate thickness: but another
which crossed my path on a coffee estate on the Peacock Mountain at
Pusilawa, considerably exceeded these dimensions. Another which I
watched in the garden at Elie House, near Colombo, surprised me by the
ease with which it erected itself almost perpendicularly in order to
scale a wall upwards of ten feet high.
Of ten species which ascend the trees to search for squirrels and
lizards, and to rifle the nests of birds, one half, including the green
_carawilla_, and the deadly _tic polonga_, are believed by the natives
to be venomous; but the fact is very dubious. I have heard of the cobra
being found on the crown of a coco-nut palm, attracted, it was said, by
the toddy which was flowing at the time, as it was the season for
drawing it.
_Water-Snakes_.--The fresh-water snakes, of which four species have been
described as inhabiting the still water and pools, are all harmless in
Ceylon. A gentleman, who found near a river an agglutinated cluster of
the eggs of one variety _(Tropidonotus umbratus)_, placed them under a
glass shade on his drawing-room table, where one by one the young
serpents emerged from the shell to the number of twenty.
The use of the Pamboo-Kaloo, or snake-stone, as a remedy in cases of
wounds by venomous serpents, has probably been communicated to the
Singhalese by the itinerant snake-charmers who resort to the island from
the coast of Coromandel; and more than one well-authenticated instance
of its successful application has been told to me by persons who had
been eye-witnesses to what they described. On one occasion, in March,
1854, a friend of mine was riding, with some other civil officers of the
government, along a jungle path in the vicinity of Bintenne, when they
saw one of two Tamils, who were approaching them, suddenly dart into the
forest and return, holding in both hands a cobra de capello which he had
seized by the head and tail. He called to his companion for assistance
to place it in their covered basket, but, in doing this, he handled it
so inexpertly that it seized him by the finger, and retained its hold
for a few seconds, as if unable to retract its fangs. The blood flowed,
and intense pain appeared to follow almost immediately; but, with all
expedition, the friend of the sufferer undid his waistcloth, and took
from it two snake-stones, each of the size of a small almond, intensely
black and highly polished, though of an extremely light substance. These
he applied one to each wound inflicted by the teeth of the serpent, to
which the stones attached themselves closely, the blood that oozed from
the bites being rapidly imbibed by the porous texture of the article
applied. The stones adhered tenaciously for three or four minutes, the
wounded man's companion in the meanwhile rubbing his arm downwards from
the shoulder towards the fingers. At length the snake-stones dropped off
of their own accord; the suffering of the man appeared to have subsided;
he twisted his fingers till the joints cracked, and went on his way
without concern. Whilst this had been going on, another Indian of the
party who had come up took from his bag a small piece of white wood,
which resembled a root, and passed it gently near the head of the cobra,
which the latter immediately inclined close to the ground; he then
lifted the snake without hesitation, and coiled it into a circle at the
bottom of his basket. The root by which he professed to be enabled to
perform this operation with safety he called the _Naya-thalee Kalinga_
(the root of the snake-plant), protected by which he professed his
ability to approach any reptile with impunity.
In another instance, in 1853, Mr. Lavalliere, the District Judge of
Kandy, informed me that he saw a snake-charmer in the jungle, close by
the town, search for a cobra de capello, and, after disturbing it in its
retreat, the man tried to secure it, but, in the attempt, he was bitten
in the thigh till blood trickled from the wound. He instantly applied
the _Pamboo-Kaloo_, which adhered closely for about ten minutes, during
which time he passed the root which he held in his hand backwards and
forwards above the stone, till the latter dropped to the ground. He
assured Mr. Lavalliere that all danger was then past. That gentleman
obtained from him the snake-stone he had relied on, and saw him
repeatedly afterwards in perfect health.
The substances which were used on both these occasions are now in my
possession. The roots employed by the several parties are not identical.
One appears to be a bit of the stem of an Aristolochia; the other is so
dried as to render it difficult to identify it, but it resembles the
quadrangular stem of a jungle vine. Some species of Aristolochia, such
as the _A. serpentaria_ of North America, are supposed to act as a
specific in the cure of snake-bites; and the _A. indica_ is the plant to
which the ichneumon is popularly believed to resort as an antidote when
bitten[1]; but it is probable that the use of any particular plant by
the snake-charmers is a pretence, or rather a delusion, the reptile
being overpowered by the resolute action of the operator, and not by the
influence of any secondary appliance, the confidence inspired by the
supposed talisman enabling its possessor to address himself fearlessly
to his task, and thus to effect, by determination and will, what is
popularly believed to be the result of charms and stupefaction. Still it
is curious that, amongst the natives of Northern Africa, who lay hold of
the _Cerastes_ without fear or hesitation, their impunity is ascribed to
the use of a plant with which they anoint themselves before touching the
reptile[2]; and Bruce says of the people of Sennar that they acquire
exemption from the fatal consequences of the bite by chewing a
particular root and washing themselves with an infusion of certain
plants. He adds that a portion of this root was given him, with a view
to test its efficacy in his own person, but that he had not sufficient
resolution to undergo the experiment.
[Footnote 1: For an account of the encounter between the ichneumon and
the venomous snakes of Ceylon, see Pt. II. ch. i. p. 149.]
[Footnote 2: Hassellquist.]
As to the snake-stone itself, I submitted one, the application of which
I have been describing, to Mr. Faraday, and he has communicated to me,
as the result of his analysis, his belief that it is "a piece of charred
bone which has been filled with blood perhaps several times, and then
carefully charred again. Evidence of this is afforded, as well by the
apertures of cells or tubes on its surface as by the fact that it yields
and breaks under pressure, and exhibits an organic structure within.
When heated slightly, water rises from it, and also a little ammonia;
and, if heated still more highly in the air, carbon burns away, and a
bulky white ash is left, retaining the shape and size of the stone."
This ash, as is evident from inspection, cannot have belonged to any
vegetable substance, for it is almost entirely composed of phosphate of
lime. Mr. Faraday adds that "if the piece of matter has ever been
employed as a spongy absorbent, it seems hardly fit for that purpose in
its present state; but who can say to what treatment it has been
subjected since it was fit for use, or to what treatment the natives may
submit it when expecting to have occasion to use it?"
The probability is, that the animal charcoal, when instantaneously
applied, may be sufficiently porous and absorbent to extract the venom
from the recent wound, together with a portion of the blood, before it
has had time to be carried into the system; and that the blood which Mr.
Faraday detected in the specimen submitted to him was that of the Indian
on whose person the effect was exhibited on the occasion to which my
informant was an eye-witness. The snake-charmers from the coast who
visit Ceylon profess to prepare the snake-stones for themselves, and
preserve the composition as a secret. Dr. Davy[1], on the authority of
Sir Alexander Johnston, says the manufacture of them is a lucrative
trade, carried on by the monks of Manilla, who supply the merchants of
India--and his analysis confirms that of Mr. Faraday. Of the three
different kinds which he examined--one being of partially burnt bone,
and another of chalk, the third, consisting chiefly of vegetable matter,
resembled a bezoar,--all of them (except the first, which possessed a
slight absorbent power) were quite inert, and incapable of having any
effect exclusive of that on the imagination of the patient. Thunberg was
shown the snake-stone used by the boers at the Cape in 1772, which was
imported for them "from the Indies, especially from Malabar," at so high
a price that few of the farmers could afford to possess themselves of
it; he describes it as convex on one side black, and so porous that
"when thrown into water, it caused bubbles to rise;" and hence, by its
absorption, it served, if speedily applied, to extract the poison from
the wound.[2]
[Footnote 1: _Account of the Interior of Ceylon_, ch. iii. p. 101.]
[Footnote 2: _Thunberg_, vol. 1. p. 155.]
_Caecilia_.--The rocky jungle, bordering the higher coffee estates,
provides a safe retreat for a very singular animal, first introduced to
the notice of European naturalists about a century ago by Linnaeus, who
gave it the name _Caecilia glutinosa_, to indicate two peculiarities
manifest to the ordinary observer--an apparent defect of vision, from
the eyes being so small and imbedded as to be scarcely distinguishable;
and a power of secreting from minute pores in the skin a viscous fluid,
resembling that of snails, eels, and some salamanders. Specimens are
rare in Europe from the readiness with which it decomposes, breaking
down into a flaky mass in the spirits in which it is attempted to be
preserved.
The creature is about the length and thickness of an ordinary round desk
ruler, a little flattened before and rounded behind. It is brownish,
with a pale stripe along either side. The skin is furrowed into 350
circular folds, in which are imbedded minute scales. The head is
tolerably distinct, with a double row of fine curved teeth for seizing
the insects and worms on which it is supposed to live.
Naturalists are most desirous that the habits and metamorphoses of this
creature should be carefully ascertained, for great doubts have been
entertained as to the position it is entitled to occupy in the chain of
creation.
_Frogs_.--In the numerous marshes formed by the overflowing of the
rivers in the vast plains of the low country, there are many varieties
of frogs, which, both by their colours and by their extraordinary size,
are calculated to excite the surprise of strangers.[1] In the lakes
around Colombo and the still water near Trincomalie, there are huge
creatures of this family, from six to eight inches in length[2], of an
olive hue, deepening into brown on the back and yellow on the under
side. The Kandian species, recently described, is much less in
dimensions, but distinguished by its brilliant colouring, a beautiful
grass green above and deep orange underneath.[3]
[Footnote 1: The Indian toad (Bufo melanostictus, _Schneid_) is found In
Ceylon, and the belief in its venomous nature is as old as the third
century B.C., when the _Mahawanso_ mentions that the wife of "King Asoca
attempted to destroy the great bo-tree (at Magadha) _with the poisoned
fang of a toad_."--Ch. xx. p. 122.]
[Footnote 2: Rana eutipora, and the Malabar bull-frog, R. Malabarica.]
[Footnote 3: R. Kandiana, _Kelaart_.]
In the shrubberies around my house at Colombo the graceful little
hylas[1] were to be found in great numbers, crouching under broad leaves
to protect them from the scorching sun; some of them utter a sharp
metallic sound at night, similar to that produced by smacking the lips.
They possess in a high degree the power of changing their colour; and
one which had seated itself on the gilt pillar of a dinner lamp was
scarcely to be distinguished from the or-molu to which it clung. They
are enabled to ascend glass by means of the suckers at the extremity of
their toes. Their food consists of flies and minute coleoptera.
[Footnote 1: The tree-frog, Hyla leucomystax, _Gracer_.]
_List of Ceylon Reptiles_.
I am indebted to Dr. Gray of the British Museum for a more complete
enumeration of the reptiles of Ceylon than is to be found in Dr.
Kelaart's published lists; but many of those new to Europeans have been
carefully described by the latter gentleman in his _Prodromus Faunae
Zeylanicae_ and its appendices, as well as in the 13th vol. _Magaz. Nat.
Hist._ (1854).
Saura.
Monitor dracaena, _Linn._
_Hydrosaurus salvator, Wagl._
_Mabouya elegans, Gray_.
_Riopa punctata, Linn._
_Hardwichii, Gray_.
_Tiliqua rufescens, Shaw_.
_Eumeces_ Taprobanius, _Kel._
Nessia Burtoni, _Gray_.
_Acontias_ Layardi, _Kelaart_.
Argyrophis bramieus, _Daud._
Rhinophis Blythii, _Kelaart_.
Mytilia Gerrardii, _Gray_.
Templetonii, _Gray_.
animaculata, _Gray_.
melanogaster, _Gray_.
Siluboura Ceylonica, _Cuv._
Uropeltis Saffragamus, _Kelaart_.
grandis, _Kelaart_.
pardalis, _Kelaart_.
Dapatnaya Laukadivana, _Kel._
Trevelyanii, _Kelaart_.
Hemidactylus frenatus, _Schleg._
Leschenaultii, _Dum & Bib._
_trihedrus, Le 
Ceylon; an Account of the Island Physical, Historical, and Topographical with Notices of Its Natural History, Antiquities and Productions, Volume 1 (of 2) / Tennent, James Emerson