Stack 

 Annex 



CONTENTS 



THE FIRST VOLUME. 



V.I 



PART I. 



PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 



CHAPTER I. 



GEOLOGY. MINERALOGY. OEMS. 



Page 



. 3 



I. General Aspect. 



Singular beauty of the island 

 Its ancient renown in conse- 



quence ..... 4 

 Fable of its " perfumed winds " 



(note) 4 

 Character of the scenery . . 5 



II. Geographical Position ... 6 

 Ancient views regarding it a- 



mongst the Hindus, " the Me- 



ridian of Lanka " . . .6 

 Buddhist traditions of former 



submersions . . . (note) 7 

 Errors as to the dimensions of 



Ceylon ..... 8 

 Opinions of Onesicritus, Erato- 



sthenes, Strabo, Pliny.Ptolemy, 



Agathemerus . . . . 8, 9 

 The Arabian geographers . . 9 

 Sumatra supposed to be Ceylon 



(note) 10 



True latitude and longitude . 11 

 General Eraser's map of Ceylon 



(note) 1 1 



Geological formation . . .12 

 Adam's Bridge .... 13 

 Error of supposing Ceylon to be 



a detached fragment of India . 14 



III. The Mountain System . . 14 

 Remarkable hills, Mihintala and 



Sigiri ..... 15 

 Little evidence of volcanic action 16 

 Rocks, gneiss . . . .16 

 Rock temples . . . .17 

 Laterite or " Cabook " . .17 

 Ancient name Tamba-panni (note) 17 

 Coral formation . . .19 



Extraordinary wells . . .21 

 Darwin's theory of coral wells 



examined . . . (note) 22 

 The soil of Ceylon generally poor 24 

 " Patenas," their phenomena ob- 



scure ..... 24 

 Rice lands between the hills . 26 

 Soil of the plains, " Talawas " . 27 



IV. Metals. Tin ... 29 

 Gold, nickel, cobalt . . .29 

 Quicksilver . . . (note) 29 

 Iron 30 



V. Minerals. Anthracite, plumbago, 



kaolin, nitre caves . . .31 

 List of Ceylon minerals . (note) 32 



VI. Gems, ancient fame of . 32 

 Rose-coloured quartz . . (note) 33 

 Mode of searching for gems . 34 



Rubies 3'J 



Sapphire, topaz, garnet, and 



cinnamon stone, cat's-eye, 

 amethyst, moonstone . " 37, 38 



Diamond not found in Ceylon 



(note) 38 



Gem-finders and lapidaries . 39 



VII. Rivers. Their character . . 40 

 The Mahawelli-ganga . . 41 

 Table of the rivers ... 41 



VIII. Singular coast formation, and 



its causes . . . .43 

 The currents and their influence 44 

 Word "Gobb " explained 44, (note) 46 

 Vegetation of the sand forma- 

 tions 48 



Their suitability for the coco- 

 nut 51 



IX. Harbours. Galle and Trinco- 



malie 52 



Tides 52 



Red infusoria . . . .53 

 Population of Ceylon . . 53 



CHAP. II. 



CLIMATE. HEALTH AND DISEASE. 



Uniformity of temperature . . 54 

 Brilliancy of foliage . . . .56 

 Colombo. January longshore wind 56 

 February cold nights . . (note) 57 



March, April 58 



May S.W. monsoon ... 58 

 Aspect of the country before it . 59 



Lightning 60 



Rain, its violence . . . .61 



June 62 



3 



