PREFACE. 



HE issue oi: the first volume of a new periodical publi- 

 cation seems to require a few words of introduction by 

 way of apology. It may appear rash or even reckless 

 to launch a new journal upon the already crowded sea 

 of scientific literature and thereby increase, though to an infini- 

 tesimal extent, the confusion of mankind. The experiment has 

 nevertheless been sanctioned by Government, and it must be left 

 to the future to decide with regard to its success or failure. Its 

 justification will depend upon its success, and the latter will be 

 determined not so much by the number of local subscribers as by 

 the length of years during which it may be continued. 



It will be seen from the nature of the contents of the first 

 volume that *' Spolia Zeylanica " contains matter of interest and 

 intelligence to residents in the Island who are willing to give and 

 take information of the kind vouchsafed to them in these pages. In 

 a progressive Colony like Ceylon, where the aspect of the country 

 is undergoing rapid change, records of apparently trivial observa- 

 tions often acquire a cumulative importance in the course of years, 

 and it should be considered an advantage to have the means of 

 rendering permanent and available for future reference, notes 

 on the habits of creatures which become more shy and difficult 

 to procure as time goes on and the new order of things replaces 

 the old. 



t 



This is especially the case with those unapproachable people, 

 the Veddas of Ceylon, and it is greatly to be hoped that those 

 who have the opportunity of holding intercourse with this folk 

 will rescue their vanishing traits from oblivion. A subject of 

 this kind can never be exhausted, and the theory that the study of 

 the manners and beliefs of primitive races belongs to the " history 

 of the folly of mankind " has long been exploded. The same 

 principle applies to the Rodiyas and the Gypsies and to all who 

 hold aloof from the great game of destiny. 



