FLOWERING SEASON A.VD CLIMATE. 



703 



Western Province, the greater part of the Southern and Sabaragamuwa 

 Provinces, a large portion of the Central Provinces, and small tracts 

 in the Uva and North- Western Provinces. The upper limit of this 

 region is fixed, where it passes into the montane zone, at 3,000 feet. 

 The rainfall over this region varies from 75 up to 200 inches per annum, 

 and is well distributed over the year, falling in both the north-east and 

 south-west monsoons, and especially in May and June during the latter 

 season. A short dry time occurs during some portion of the first quar- 

 ter of the year, and often again in August and September, the rest of 

 the year being more or less rainy. 



l< 3. The montane region of Hill Country. — This includes all the 

 country above 3.000 feet elevation and occupies about one- twelfth of 

 the area. It lies wholly in the moist region, i.e., the rainfall is nowhere 

 less than 25 inches per annum. In most parts the fall is much greater 

 and in some localities in the Adam's Peak Range reaches 250 inches 

 or even more, mostly falling during the south-west monsoon. The hill 

 country occupies a large portion of the Central Province and of the 

 Provinces of Uva and Sabaragamuwa, and very small parts of the 

 North- Wostern and Southern Provinces, the whole mountain mass 

 being thus situated S.-W. of the centre of Ceylon. ' n 



There were no meteorological statistics available for the montane 

 region of the hill country and we can, therefore, examine only the 

 " Dry Region " and the " Moist Low-Country Region." 



The data for the " Dry Region " are these : — 



1 Trirnen: a handbook of the Flora of Ceylon. 



