MRS COL. WALKER’S TOUR IN CEYLON. 227 
. also used for tarts. The Rambootan, ( Nephelium lappaceum), 
. an excellent fruit, and the Bread-fruit (Artocarpus incisa), 
_ appear to thrive vigorously, and we here found for the first 
time, the Croton variegatum in full flower. 
“The church and houses of the missionaries, as well as 
that we occupied, belonging to our friend Mr W., agent for 
government in the extensive district of Galle, are all situated 
upon distinct small hills, or knolls, surrounded by paddy 
- fields, which are probably under water in the rainy season. 
We spent the next day at Badagamme, in hopes our collec- 
tors might pick up something new in the neighbourhood; 
but although the vegetation is very luxuriant and varied, 
they brought us nothing uncommon. | Convolvuli abound, and 
the Impatiens cornuta is very frequent here, and in many 
other places on the coast, as well as in and about Kandy. 
,"'The banks of the river during our next day's progress 
were pretty, and clothed with fern and many other plants, 
but few of them were in flower; I only observed zora cocci- 
nea, Melastoma Malabarica, and a species of Nerium, which 
appears to differ much in its habits from N. Zeylanicum, 
being found only on the banks, and hanging quite over the 
river; but, on examination, we could detect no difference 
except in the size of the leaves, which are much narrower, a - 
Point hardly sufficient to establish another species, as the 
Shape and size of the leaves of many plants vary so much in — 
the same species. About three miles from Badagamme,low - 
hills appear in the distance; the navigation of the river is 
much impeded by drift-wood and trees, which must have — 
been unavoidably precipitated into it, when clearing the steep — — 
banks for the towing-path. Our boat, though very comfortably — 
fitted up for the traveller, we found of a bad construction for 
river navigation; it was on the principle of the common > 
canoe, with what is called the out-rigger, which requires” 
sea-room; it frequently caught in the drift-wood, 9 stuck - 
among the rocks where the channel was sufficiently wide for - ee 
a larger boat to have passed through with ease. A broad - 
flat-bottomed boat I should think better suited to river navi- - 
