496 THE XORTIIERX FORESTS. [Part IX 



and embanking tlie clayey soil, wliicli is deeply im- 

 pregnated by the constant deposit of salt from the over- 

 flowing of the sea. This line of the shore is portioned 

 off in strips, the property of different proprietors ; and 

 each of these is formed into a succession of pans, vary- 

 ing from five to seven in number, at the discretion of 

 the proprietor. The process of manufacture is simple : 

 the sea-water is raised into one of the pans by means of 

 a wooden scoop swung ft'om a triangle, and having been 

 allowed to rest for a day or two to deposit its sand and 

 earthy particles, it is run off successively into a second 

 and a third reservoir, to complete the process of defeca- 

 tion. By degrees it becomes fitted for the final operation 

 of evaporating the sea-water, which is performed in the 

 remaining pans, in which the brine hes exposed to the 

 intense heat of the sun. The dry crystals of salt are then 

 cautiously collected from the sm'face of the clay and re- 

 moved to the Government stores. 



A few miles north of Mllavelh, at the village of 

 Coomberapoote, the process is muc^h more simple and 

 expeditious, but the salt is less pure and of proportion- 

 ately lower value. There it is prepared by merely con- 

 structmg a dam to pre\'ent the retkement of the sea, 

 which spreads far on the level shore, to the depth of a 

 few inches. In the course of from ten to fom'teen days, 

 according to the intensity of the sun, the evaporation is 

 complete, and the salt may be hfted in a thick crust fi'om 

 the surface of the soil. In both cases the rapidity and 

 success of the process is entkely dependent on the heat of. 

 the weather, and the collection can only be made about 

 foin* times in each year, as the occurrence of rain would 

 be fatal to the operation. 



A few miles inland from Xillavelli there are two 

 places of interest, one the hot springs, Kannea^, and 

 the other a nameless spot in the deep sohtudes of the 



' An analysis of the water will be I for 1800, p. 8 ; and in the Account of 

 found in the Asiatic Annual Register \ Ceylon, by Dr. Davy, p. 43. 



