268 SPOLIA ZEYLANICA. 
at the section (Plate II.) will show the relationship of the 
sandstone to the beds above and below it. This section is 
generalized, but, although compiled from many observations 
taken along the coast, is especially designed to illustrate the 
Wellawatta exposures. 
Underneath a thin layer of blown sand is a deposit of 
vegetable earth indicative of a land surface; below this 
a layer of vegetable earth and sea sand—a record of swamp 
conditions ; below that again comes a thick layer of sea sand 
with marine shells overlying a reef, or a stratum of coral 
fragments. The coral rests upon the coarse gray sandy clay 
which yielded the fossil teeth. The depth of the sandy clay 
in the Wellawatta district is unknown, as its bottom has never 
been found ; it probably rests on the ancient crystalline rocks, 
which are exposed in a cliff to the east of the generalized 
section. 
The gray sandy clay deposit is of special interest, inasmuch 
as it exactly resembles the material which forms the coastal 
flats in the northern part of the Island. These represent, in 
my opinion, accumulations which were formed on shallow 
sea floors away from the sorting influence of the waves. In 
composition they are an admixture of sand and mud with 
small quartz pebbles and shells, generally unbroken. Most of 
the molluscan species are small, but fairly large shells are not 
uncommon. The flats are only covered (if at all) by excep- 
tional tides. They are for the most part dry, and support a 
scanty vegetation of succulent and herbaceous plants. Thorny 
scrub and ranawara bushes find a footing on any patches of 
blown sand or ancient beach which may here and there be 
found upon the surface. They form a fair grazing ground for 
cattle, and footprints show that deer, pig, buffalo, leopard, 
elephant, and other creatures of the neighbouring jungle 
resort to these open spaces ; while, as I have observed in some 
localities, jackal and hare seem particularly fond of them. 
I have many times found the remains of wild creatures upon 
such ground as this, and here, as in many other places, 
scattered teeth are of fairly common occurrence. 
At the moment of writing my camp is pitched by just such 
a flat as this (at Palavi, Northern Province), and as I have in 
