HUNTING & SHOOTING IN CEYLON 



coast of Ceylon, fairly flat, having a few ranges of hills 

 rising here and there towards the west side. This is a 

 very " gamey " province, but an awful place to travel in, 

 as there are no roads beyond the main road to Batticaloa 

 in the centre of the province, and to Trincomalee in the 

 northern part, with a good road for some miles along 

 the coast north and south of Batticaloa. The coast-line 

 is broken up by lagoons, into which numerous streams 

 run in the wet season. For a few miles inland the 

 country is very scrubby, and farther inland all forest, 

 but there is a lot of open and scrub country south of 

 Batticaloa extending along the coast right away down 

 to the Southern Province. Travelling is very difficult and 

 water bad, but there is good shooting to be had in many 

 places practically all over the province, so that I cannot 

 pick out and particularise any one place, almost all being 

 equally good, for all kinds of game, and almost all being 

 equally impossible of access without unlimited time and 

 money at your disposal. Coaches run to Batticaloa from 

 Bandarawela, and to Trincomalee from Matale. 



Rainy season October to January inclusive, rest of the 

 year very dry and fearfully hot. Perennial stream the 

 Madura Oya only, but even this fine stream dries up into 

 standing pools in August. This province is a great place 

 for paddy and coconut growing near the coast, where the 

 inhabitants are all Moors and Tamils. Batticaloa is the 

 headquarters of the Agency, and at Trincomalee, the 

 great naval station of the East, 1 is an Assistant Agency. 

 There is steamer service from Colombo to Batticaloa and 

 Trincomalee. 



We will now cross the country to the North- Western 



1 The naval station has been closed altogether since writing the above. 

 AUTHOR. 



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