CEYLON COCOA ESTATE 135 



I measured several, and they were from twenty 

 four to twenty seven inches in length. The 

 Botanical name of this extraordinary tree is 

 "Cassia fistula." The seed pods it produces 

 are as curious as the flowers are beautiful. 

 When ripe they look as if the trees were hung 

 with ebony rulers, as they are black and round 

 and from two to three feet long, and about an 

 inch in diameter. 



In the Pavilion grounds at Kandy, I saw 

 another vegetable monstrosity. What flowers 

 the tree bears I do not know, but when I saw 

 it, it was in full leaf, and from many branches 

 depended what from a distance I should have 

 declared were bunches of tallow candles, the 

 veritable old tallow dips of long ago, which 

 may still sometimes be seen hanging from the 

 ceilings of very remote village shops. On 

 nearer approach I found that even the wick at 

 the end was mimicked by these curious appen- 

 dages. The number of flowering forest trees 

 is a most noticeable feature in Ceylon scenery, 

 and they give a richness of colour to wooded 

 landscapes that I have never noticed elsewhere. 

 Our young bungalow servant takes a delight in 

 dressing the dinner table with flowers and leaves, 

 and makes lovely geometrical designs that would 

 astonish and fill with envy an English parlour- 

 maid. The correctness of his eye, and the light- 

 ness of his touch are quite remarkable. 



