68 SPOLIA ZBYLANICA. 



ceiling. I may add that I cauglit a good number of the bats and 

 definitely identified them as Megaderma lyra ; like Mr, Green's 

 specimens, they were all swarming with small winged flies, some of 

 which were sent to Europe for identification, but I have heard 

 nothing further of them. Very similar, if not identical, winged flies 

 were found by me on bats caught at Galle, but these latter bats 

 were, I think, Ehinolophus affinis. 



T. BAINBRIGGE FLETCHER. 



6. The Bell at Kayman's Gate — On a recent visit to Jayawardhana 

 Kotte, the Cotta of to-day, I was informed that the bell at Kayman's 

 Gate in the Pettah was removed from the site of the Portuguese 

 Church close to where had once stood the palace of Dharmapala. 

 A few mornings back I examined the bell in question, and from 

 where I was in the street an inscription was visible. A ladder was 

 obtained from the Municipal Office, and a Eiscal's peon, boldly 

 daring, scaled the spiked enclosure and climbed as far as he could 

 with the help of the shaky ladder up the side of the belfry. From 

 the disjointed letters which he deciphered from hisprecarious position 

 I make out the legend, which is in two lines, to be as follows : — 



AVE GRATIA PLENA DOMINUS 

 TECUM BENEDICTA TX7 INMULIERS 



My informant then was correct. The bell is a Portuguese one, 

 and I hope some enthusiast of the Dutch Reformed Church of 

 Wolvendahl, whose property I understand the bell now is, will 

 examine it with care to ascertain if it bears any date. 



P. E. PIERIS. 



7. The Growth of Marine Organisms in Colombo Harbour. — In a 

 letter which I received in September, 1911, from Capt. J. A. Legge, 

 Master Attendant, Colombo, the following interesting communica- 

 tion was made : — " Wlien Dr. Chalmers was appointed to investigate 

 the sanitary conditions of Colombo, he made a study of the harbour, 

 and found that whilst the Teredo worm destroyed timber in most of 

 the harbour area, it hardly touched the timber on the passenger 

 jetty or south shore of the harbour. This he attributed to the want 

 of scour or circulation of drainage matter at the south end of the 

 harbour resulting in the destruction of marine life. The pilot 

 launches, tugs, and other vessels of every department used to require 

 cleaning about twice a year only. After the new arm of the Break- 

 water had been extended an appreciable distance, and particularly 

 c^arly this year, it was noticed that the current running out of the 

 harbour at the south entrance had increased markedly in force, so 

 much so that it used to sweep the divers off their work and make 

 their work much more difficult. Sjrnchronizing with this the har- 

 bour has become cleaner and cleaner during the last two years, and 

 the marine growth on thp r'.raft lying off my boat-house has been 



