•264 



GAMrOLA AND THE COFFEE REGIO>S. [Part VII. 



lieucled that the sufferer would die upon the road, when 

 he has ralhed and recovered after reaching Neuera-elha, 

 as if the breezes of tlie mountain were the ehxir of 

 St. Leon. 



As preventive of illness, therefore, the advantages of 

 Neuera-elha cannot be too highly lauded. To the hj'^jo- 

 chondiiac and the valetudinarian, 



" TMien nature, being oppress'd, commands the mind 

 To siiifer with the body," 



the valley is a paradise ; to the languid and exhausted 

 dweller on the coast a visit to this elevated region acts 

 like the touch of his mother earth, strengthening him 

 to wrestle with the heats below ; and children after 

 rejoicing in the bracing breezes descend as rosy and bright 

 as on their first arrival from England. 



European vegetables have been grown after infinite 

 pains and attention at Neuera-elha, and attempts have 

 been made to cultivate Enghsh grain ^ ; but the result 

 has been unsatisfactory, — the seed was destroyed by the 

 nuiltitude of larvaa and other depredators in a soil that 

 had never before been disturbed ; and although the 

 experiment may eventually prove successful, the labour 

 and cost in the intermediate stages must for some time 

 to come discourage the enterprise as a remunerative 

 speculation. 



As the plain is entirely formed of debris from the 

 hills, it has been largely productive of precious stones 

 embedded in the alluvial deposit, and is stiU covered 

 Avith pits sunk by the gem-finders. One of the amuse- 

 ments of visitors is jewel-hunting, and they ai^e frequently 

 requited by the discovery of small rubies, sa})phu'es, and 

 topazes. 



From Neuera-ellia to Badulla the road makes a descent 

 of more than 3000 feet within forty miles, and com- 



1 An accoimt of these expeinments 

 and their results will be found in Mr. 

 Bakbr's Eii/M Years' Wanderings in 



Ceylon, 8vo. Longmans, 1855, oh. ii. 

 p. 14, &c. 



