1 66 THE BRITISH IN CEYLON. 



paratively small portion of the whole country being 

 under their direct administration the real ruler for the 

 most part is the spirit of the wilderness. Indeed, ex- 

 cept at Singapore and Batavia, both of which are 

 flourishing settlements, and a few other points, there 

 are hardly any considerable exceptions to this rule. 



But as we proceed towards the northern limits of 

 the equatorial zone, as for example, to Ceylon, and 

 Southern India we find the wet and dry seasons 

 gradually becoming more and more clearly marked, 

 and as they become so, the evidences of human occu- 

 pation increase. The same thing we find repeated 

 upon the great American continent upon a lesser scale ; 

 and though there can be no doubt that the whole of 

 this country was originally one vast forest region, the 

 numerous and industrious populations, living together 

 in village communities, have by degrees brought large 

 areas under cultivation. In Ceylon, for instance, the 

 population is nearly two and a half millions, and there 

 are numerous European settlers ; nevertheless, the " British 

 Encyclopaedia " tells us that generally even now u the 

 summits of the highest ridges are clothed with verdure, 

 while the slopes of the hills, till the last few years, were 

 covered with forests of gigantic and valuable trees, which 

 have now disappeared under the axe of the planter 



Under the able administration of British rulers the 

 prosperity and trade of the island, we are happy to 

 say, have of late years enormously increased but though 

 enormous clearances have been made for tea estates 

 there are large areas of land still buried under an almost 

 impenetrable forest-growth. 



* Encycl. Brit., gth edit., Vol. v., pp. 359 to 365 Article "Ceylon." 



