WEST AND SOUTH COASTS OF CEYLON. 445 



a poft twenty-five miles fouth of Colomboy of an infcrip- 

 tion cut upon a rock within a few miles of that neigh- 

 bourhood ; and being dcfirous of feeing it, a party was 

 made up to accompany me on the next morning to go 

 by the river as far as a fugar plantation lately laid out 

 by a fociety of gentlemen. 



We embarked at day break in a fmall boat on the 

 river Caligonga, which is wide and deep, and its banks 

 on either iide lined thick with woods and bufhes clofe to 

 the water's-edge, which renders the landing difficult: 

 the llream was placid, the tide in our favour, and we 

 were foon rowed about three miles to the landing place, 

 •whence we crofTed the newly-cukivated ground, to the 

 plantation, houfe, ajid mill, about half a mile further. 

 The country, where cleared, appeared through the 

 openings of the woods beautifully fwelling into fmall 

 eminences, clothed with various kinds of timber, among 

 which the jack tree of a great fize, and cocoa trees of 

 different kinds predominated : the air was perfumed by 

 the betel and various trees in flower, and a variety of 

 flowering flirubs, which diffufed a grateful fragrance 

 all round. After leaving the fandy coaft, the foil was 

 reddifh, particularly of the rifing grounds; excepting 

 the fugar canes of the plantation and fome rice culti- 

 vated in part of the lower ground, no other cultivation 

 was obfervable; but the country, if once cleared in a 

 greater meafure, promifes to be highly produ6live. 

 A road appeared to have been recently made lead- 

 ing out to the eaftward towards CaJidia, as we were 

 informed, but no towns or collected groups of 

 houfes appeared, though from the number of inha- 

 bitants we met, their habitations could not be far 

 diftant. A fmall neat houfe is built on the plant- 

 ation for the ufe of the overfeer, and the mill 

 built near it, where the operation of bruifing the 

 cane is performed by three cylinders of granite 

 placed vertically on a platform, worked by oxen 

 placed below. 



From 



