THE PHYSICAL FEATURES 



however, now closed to sportsmen, having been turned 

 into a game sanctuary. In all parts of the province 

 elephants may be found, but not in any great numbers ; 

 deer, pig, bears, and leopards are not plentiful, and only 

 get-at-able in open country, of which there is little. 

 Anuradhapura is a good centre to travel from, and is 

 now reached by rail from Colombo. It is a fine snipe- 

 shooting centre in the season, and pigeons, jungle fowl, 

 and other game birds abound. 



The ruins of the ancient city of Anuradhapura 

 will form a great attraction to visitors of antiquarian 

 tastes, and the rest-house affords excellent accommoda- 

 tion. 



The only other really good shooting ground in the pro- 

 vince is the south-eastern division, called Tamankaduwa, 

 which, roughly speaking, occupies the country between 

 Matale District and Trincomalee. This district contained 

 the second great capital city of ancient Ceylon, known then 

 as Pulastipura, but now known as Topawewa (corrupted 

 into Topare), and as it is only some 500 years since the 

 capital was abandoned, the country still contains vast 

 plains of grass land which formed the ancient paddy fields 

 and other cultivated lands or sites of towns and villages. 

 The whole province is full of ancient irrigation works 

 and contains some of the most gigantic tanks in Ceylon, 

 and Tamankaduwa District is exceedingly well supplied 

 in that respect. The approach to this part of the pro- 

 vince is by cart-road from Matale or Trincomalee, leaving 

 the main road usually at Haburane. There are also minor 

 approach roads (very bad travelling) from Alut Oya and 

 Gal Oya, but I don't recommend them. 



From Haburane, where there is a rest-house, to Min- 

 neriya, one of the biggest tanks in Ceylon, is 16 miles, 



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