CiiAr. VTT.J 



LEECHES. 



303 



which are too hot and dry for them ; but amongst the 

 rank vegetation in the lower ranges of the hill country, 

 which is kept damp by frequent showers, they are found 

 in tormenting profusion. They are terrestrial, never 

 visiting ponds or streams. In size they are about an 

 inch in length, and as fine as a common knitting needle ; 

 but capable of distension till they equal a quill in thick- 

 ness, and attain a length of nearly two inches. Their 

 structure is so flexible that they can insinuate them- 

 selves through the meshes of the finest stocking, not 

 only seizing on the feet and ankles, but ascending to 

 the back and throat and fastening on the tenderest 

 parts of the body. The coffee planters, who Hve amongst 

 these pests, are obliged, in order to exclude them, to 

 envelope their legs in "leech gaiters" made of closely 

 woven cloth. The natives smear their bodies with oil, 

 tobacco ashes, or lemon juice ^ ; the latter serving not 

 only to stop the flow of blood, but to expedite tlie 

 heahng of the wounds. In moving, the land leeches 

 have the power of planting one extremity on the earth 

 and raising the other perpendicularly to watch for their 

 victim. Such is their vigilance and instinct, that on 

 the approach of a passer-by to a spot wliich they 

 infest, they may be seen amongst the grass and fallen 

 leaves on the edge of a native path, poised erect, and 

 preparing for their attack on man and horse. On 



its whole length. Tliere is a larg-er 

 species to be found in this garden 

 with a broad gi'een dorsal fascia ; 

 but I have not been able to procm-e 

 one although I have offered a small 

 rewai'd to any coolie who will bring 

 me one." In a subsequent commu- 

 nication Mr. Thwaites remarks " that 

 the dorsal longitudinal fascials of the 

 same .width as the lateral ones, and 

 differs only in being perhaps slightly 

 more gi'eeu ; the colour of the three 

 fasciae varies from brownish-yellow 

 to briaht o'reen." He likewise states 



"that the rings which compose the 

 body are just 100, and the teeth 70 

 to 80 in each set, in a single row, 

 except to one end, where they are in 

 a double row." 



* The Minorite friar, Odoric of 

 Portenau, writing in A. v. 1.320, says 

 that the gem-finders who sought the 

 jewels around Adam's Peak, " take 

 lemons which they peel, anointing 

 tliemselves with the juice thereof, so 

 that the leeches may not be able to 

 hurt them." — Hakluyt, Voi/. vol. ii. 

 p. 58. 



