120 SPOLIA ZEYLANICA. 
while the Wila-oya and Kulapan-oya convey the waters from 
the eastern limits of the Buttala-Wedirata to the sea through 
the Panawa Pattu. 
The chief mountains are Wadinagala (2,414 ft.), ‘“ West- 
minster Abbey ” (1,830 ft.), Degalhella, Nilgala, Hibitalana- 
gala, Kiripokunagala, “‘ Chimney Hill,’ and Obbekota in the 
Monaragala range. 
Most of these mountains rise abruptly from the plains 
below, and terminate in high masses of rock. There are, in 
some cases—particularly on the summit of “‘ Westminster 
Abbey ”—small patches of vegetation, but in the majority the 
summits of the more conspicuous hills are bare. The country 
described, therefore, may, broadly speaking, be considered as 
flat, broken by a few low undulations, the whole being dotted 
over irregularly with abrupt mountainous masses of rock. 
The rainfall of this area is comparatively low, and probably 
does not exceed an average of 60 inches for the year, nearly 
the whole of which falls in the north-east monsoon, thus 
involving a period of extreme drought during the south-west 
monsoon, when for months there is not a drop of rain, followed 
by torrential showers of variable intensity and uneven distri- 
bution. 
I am indebted to Mr. Balfour, the Director of Irrigation, 
for the details of rainfall at Ampari and Rotawewa,* well 
outside the area I refer to, and to the Surveyor-Generaly for 
the same particulars at Monaragala, these being given in 
tabular form in the Appendix. : 
As might be anticipated from such variation and extreme, 
it would follow that the vegetation of the country embraced 
must be, for the most part, what is called dry-zone flora, 
but other influences have to be considered in relation to 
distribution. These may be considered as being affected— 
(a) By influence of streams rising in high altitudes, or in 
moister regions ; 
(b) By the operations of human beings ; 
(c) By animal transport of seed ; 
(d) By wind action. 
= a Se ee 

* Appendix A. + Appendix B. 
