Cii.vr. II.] 



AGRICULTURE. 



437 



The mango, the jambo, and several other fruits are 

 pai'ticiilarised, but the historical books make no mention 

 either of the pine-apple or the plantain, which appear to 

 have been of comparatively recent introduction. Pulse is 

 alluded to at an early date under the generic designation 

 of " Masa." ^ 



Rice and Currif. — Pace in various forms is always 

 spoken of as the food, alike of the sovereign, the priests, 

 and the people ; rice prepared plainly, conjee (the water in 

 which rice is boiled), " rice mixed with sugar and honey, 

 and rice dressed with clarified butter." ^ Chilhes are 

 now and then mentioned as an additional condiment.^ 

 The Rajavali speaks of curry in the second century 

 before Christ *, and the Mahawanso in the fifth century 

 after. ^ 



Although the taking of hfe is sternly forbidden in the 

 ethical code of Buddha, and the most prominent of the 



(by wliicli, as the soiitli of the island 

 was the place of resort, he most pro- 

 bably means the coco-nut palms) grew 

 in regular quincunxes, as if planted 

 by skilfid hands in a well ordered 

 garden. '''H i'//(TO';, i)v icaXuvai Ta—po- 

 ^avi]Vy i\ii (poii'iKioi'ac fifv Oavi^iaartoi; 



•nt'PVTiVflkvOVQ IIQ (TTOlXOI't iOCSTTtp oi'V 



Iv Toig dfipolg Ttjji' iraputt'iatav oi 

 TOVTuiv fitXiSiovot (i)vrivoij(n ra Fir^pn 

 rd (7Kiaci\1i6pn . — Lib. xvi. ch. 18. 

 The comparative silence of the Ma- 

 hawanso in relation to the coco-nut 

 may probably be referable to the fact 

 that its author resided and AATote in 

 the interior of the island ; over which, 

 unlike the light seeds of other plants, 

 its ponderous nuts coidd not ha^e 

 been distributed accidentally, where 

 down to the present time it has been 

 but partially introduced, and nowhere 

 in any considerable number. Its 

 presence throughout Ceylon is always 

 indicative of the vicinity of man, and 

 at a distance from the shore it appears 

 in those places only where it has been 

 planted by his care. The Singhalese 

 believe that the coco-nut will not 

 flourish " imless you walk imder it 

 and talk under it : " but its jiroxi- 

 mity to human habitations is possibly 



explained by the consideration that 

 if exposed in the forest, it would be 

 liable, when yovmg, to be forced down 

 by the elephants, who delight in its 

 delicate leaves. See Davy's Angler 

 in the Lake Districts, p. 245. 



^ 3Iahawanso, ch. xxiii. p. 140. 



2 Ibid., ch. xxxii. p. 19G. 



2 Ibid., ch. XXV. p. 158 ; ch. xxvi. 

 p. 160. 



•« Rajamli, pp. 196, 200, 202. 



^ 3Iahaxcanso, Ttjenoijr's MS. 

 translation, ch. xxxix. 



Ivxox saj's that curry is a Portu- 

 guese word, carre (^Relation, Sec, 

 part i. ch. iv. p. 12), but this is a 

 misapprehension. Professor II. II. 

 WiLsox, in a private letter to me, Sfiys, 

 " In Hindustan we are accustomed to 

 consider ' cm'iy ' to be derived from 

 tarkari, a general term for esculent 

 vegetables, but it is probably the 

 English version of the Kanara and 

 Malayalam kadi ; pronounced with a 

 hard r, ' kari ' or ' kuri,' which means 

 sour milk with rice boiled, whicli was 

 originally used for such compounds 

 as curry at the present day. I'lio 

 Karnata majkke-kari is a dish of rice, 

 sour milk, spices, red pepper, &:c. 

 &c." 



F F 3 



