454 Bibliographical Notice. 



The variation of the tides is so slight that navigation is almost 

 unaffected hy it, the ordinary rise and fall heing only 18 or 24 inches, 

 with an increase of ahout a third at spring tides. On hoth sides of 

 the island, 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 sepa- 

 rate it from the green water which flows on either side. On obtain- 

 ing a portion of the water so coloured, and examining it under the 

 microscope, it proved to be filled with infusoria. 



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 mountains, 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. 



"Although the luxuriant vegetation of Ceylon has at all times 

 been the theme of enthusiastic admiration, its flora does not probably 

 exceed 3000 Pheenogamic plants. The littoral vegetation of the sea- 

 border exhibits little variation from that common throughout the 

 Eastern x\rchipelago ; but it wants the Phoenix paludosa, a dwarf 

 date-palm which literally covers the islands of the Sunderbunds at 

 the delta of the Ganges. Retiring from the strand, there are groups 

 of Sonneratia, Avicennia, Heritiera, and Pandanus or Screw-pine. 



" A little further inland the sandy plains are covered with thorny 

 jungle ; and wherever man has encroached on the solitude, groves of 

 cocoa-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. 



" Conspicuous amongst them are acacias of many kinds : Cassia 

 fistula^ the wood-apple {Feronia elephantuni), and the mustard-tree 

 of Scripture {Salvadora Persica), which extends from Ceylon to the 

 Holy Land. The margosa {Asadirachta Itidica), the satin-wood, 

 the Ceylon oak, and the tamarind and ebony, are examples of the 

 larger trees ; and in the extreme south and west the Palmyra palm 

 takes the place of the cocoa-nut, and not only Hues the shore, but 

 fills the landscape on every side with its shady and prolific groves. 



"Proceeding southward on the western coast, the acacias dis- 

 appear, and the greater profusion of vegetation, the taller growth of 

 the timber, and the darker tinge of the foliage, all attest the influ- 

 ence 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 leayes and delicately tinted shoots. 



