19143 In Ceylon 



I was especially interested in the local Botanic Garden, 

 with its giant bamboos and unfamiliar tropical trees. 



Back at Colombo I went on gathering fishes and, Collecting 

 with Eric in mind, sea shells also. In this latter quest sea snails 

 a curious little incident occurred. At Mount Lavinia, 

 eight miles to the south, I found a small outcrop of 

 black lava abutting on the sea and holding numerous 

 well-stocked tide pools. Discovering the labor of 

 collecting limpets and sea snails under the vertical 

 sun to be exceedingly hot work, I retired to a near-by 

 garden with a covered seat and an automatic fan, 

 assigning the task to a couple of Zingalese. Two 

 hours later they returned with a tray full of snail 

 meat ready for cooking, having taken out the animals 

 and thrown the shells away; but being sent back, they 

 recovered enough for Eric's purposes. 



At the Hotel Galle Face I saw some interesting 

 juggling by a Hindu fakir who carried in a bag two big, 

 ultra-venomous serpents, Cobra de Capello, which when 

 angered uprear with greatly widened and flattened 

 head, the black spots on the broadened nape being 

 so arranged as to look like a repulsive human face. 

 These creatures he deposited on the ground in front 

 of the veranda, crowded with guests. At the sound 

 of a flute both rose up and did their frightful best to 

 scare the onlookers. Meanwhile, from within his ample 

 cloak he took a large, shiny mango seed, buried it in 

 a handful of red dust of the street, and covered it with 

 the mantle. He now blew on his flute to wake up the 

 snakes, made some passes in the air, and removed the 

 cloak, revealing a little mango sprout six inches high 

 with the seed attached. Covered then for a few 

 minutes while the same performance was gone 

 through, it had grown to a foot and a half. A third 



C 563 1 



