70 PHYSICAL GEOGKAPHY. [PART I. 



of the wind, and had coalesced at the instant of contact. 

 A phenomenon so striking as the fall of ice, at the mo- 

 ment of the most intense atmospherical heat, naturally 

 attracts the wonder of the natives, who hasten to 

 collect the pieces, and preserve them, when dissolved, 

 in bottles, from a belief in their medicinal properties. 

 Mr. Morris, who has repeatedly observed hailstones in 

 the Seven Korles, is under the impression that their 

 occurrence always happens at the first outburst of the 

 monsoon, and that they fall at the moment, which is 

 marked by the first flash of lightning. 



According to Professor Stevelly, of Belfast, the ra- 

 tionale of their appearance on such occasions seems to 

 be that, on the sudden formation and descent of the 

 first drops, the air expanding and rushing into the 

 void spaces, robs the succeeding drops of their caloric 

 so effectually as to send them to the earth frozen into 

 ice-balls. 



These descriptions, it will be observed, apply exclu- 

 sively to the southern regions on the east and west of 

 Ceylon ; and, in many particulars, they are inapplicable 

 to the northern portions of the island. At Trincomalie, 

 the climate bears a general resemblance to that of the 

 Indian peninsula south of Madras : showers are fre- 

 quent, but light, and the rain throughout the year does 

 not exceed forty inches. With moist winds and plentiful 

 dew, this sustains a vigorous vegetation near the coast ; 

 but in the interior it would be insufficient for the 

 culture of grain, were not the water husbanded in tanks ; 

 and, for this reason, the bulk of the population are 

 settled along the banks of the great rivers. 



The temperature of this part of Ceylon follows the 

 course of the sun, and ranges from a minimum of 70 

 in December and January, to a maximum of 94 in May 

 and June; but the heat is rendered tolerable at all 

 seasons by the steadiness of the land and sea breezes. 1 



1 The following facts regarding the I ranged from elaborate returns fur- 

 climate of Trincomalie have been ar- | nished by Mr. Higgs, the master- 



