CEYLON COCOA ESTATE 217 



riviere long enough to encircle the neck. The 

 cheapness of these beautiful ornaments as- 

 tonished me, RS150 (or at present rate of 

 exchange) — ^*io would procure a ruby or 

 sapphire necklet whilst, for from RS40 to Rsioo 

 (£3 to £j) you could get rings of sapphire, 

 ruby, or any of the stones I have named. 

 Native shopkeepers are always open to "a 

 deal," so I should strongly advise visitors to 

 Ceylon to bring with them any gold jewellery 

 that they have become tired of, or that has got 

 damaged or broken. A good price can always 

 be obtained for the gold and credited in their 

 favour in the purchase of new jewellery. The 

 shops are full of Queensland opals, which the 

 Australian passengers tire of, and exchange for 

 Ceylon gems. 



The common custom here is to buy up 

 sovereigns, and unset stones, and then to have 

 them made into jewellery by the natives, accord- 

 ing to your own design. There is no mint law 

 against defacing coins, so the sovereigns are 

 melted down, as the readiest way of obtaining 

 gold ; and it is quite a common occurrence to 

 see in the newspaper lists of- wedding presents 

 in Burgher and Sinhalese circles, so many 

 sovereigns from Mr. So and So. 



January 7th. — Just at this time of the year 

 we are visited every day at sunset by hundreds 

 of flying foxes. These extraordinary little 



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