3 6 RUBBER PLANTING IN CEYLON 



that during the conquest of the island by the British, many a private 

 soldier lay down in the jungle after an exhausting day's march and 

 never awoke, his veins being literally drained dry by the swarming 

 leeches. They are as tough as if made of India-rubber, and about the 

 only way to kill them is with fire. If cut in two, the separated parts 

 will join together again, and they are always voracious, active, and 

 absolutely devoid of fear. 



