CEYLON COCOA ESTATE 161 



height. There is a tradition that just below it 

 was the most productive bit of coffee in the 

 whole of the island ; now the coffee has been 

 replaced by cocoa. This terrace is my favourite 

 walk ; it stands high, and commands a most mag- 

 nificent view. Stretched at our feet is a great 

 part of the fertile valley of Dumbera, and away 

 beyond it to the north-east rises like a giant 

 wall the mountains of Hunasgeyria, Madulkelle, 

 Rangalla and Madamanura, whilst far away to 

 the right as far as the eye can see are the 

 distant hills of Badulla. I love to go there 

 just before, or after, sunrise, when the peaks 

 are tipped with rosy or golden light, and the 

 gorges lie in purple gloom, and the courses of 

 the two rivers the Mahavillagange, and the 

 Hulugange are marked by a trail of white 

 mist like a silver veil, lovely to look at, but alas, 

 deadly to those living within the malarious 

 influence of its filmy folds. 



To a lover of scenery, this place has endless 

 delights, for from another hill we look across 

 the valley of the Mahavillagange to the flourish- 

 ing tea estates of Hewhetta and Deltotte, and 

 and from yet another to the vast plain stretch- 

 ing away from the high grounds of the Central 

 Province to the sea on the western Coast. 

 The sea itself is not visible, but the light 

 horizon denoting its presence is there, and one 

 can draw on one's imagination for the rest. 



