ON THE FLORA OF CEYLON. $38 
given only water inthe ing the soil is capable of great things ; 
it is I think, in many parts, more productive than in the agen of 
the island nee "iaoedied by rainfall. If then the grea _ tanks, 
amount of land may have been under cultivation and Pog fertile. 
But beyond the ruins of these vast works we cannot now trace an any 
evidence of a large population ; wabedkas forest — aver tileas: 
The question is of great interest, for if the country were really 
occupied by a numerous an - industrious peo pla engaged in paddy 
Bie tstion we have to believe that the comparatively short space 
a) years, or even less, has been sufficient to completely 
restore an aboriginal forest vegetation over a eres tract of country. 
I believe that similar problems present themselves in several parts 
of India. ut the “explanelicg may perhaps be found in the 
ae oeetion that in Ceylon probably no great extent was cleared 
and cultivated at any one time or for any long period. It is well 
known, from the native records of the island, ‘fat the oad ge 
was being constantly driven from one district to another by 
frequent invasions from §. India, and thus their fields st os 
abandoned after comparatively short periods of culture. At that 
time, too, it must be remembered, as helping to account for a more 
ce) 
occupy open groun ve little chance to the natives to 
resume their position. A remarkable fact to be noted is, that this 
dry Ceylon forest is all evergreen, and s thus ent from most 
Prost; as a whole. 
Perhaps the mice striking feature of this great dry forest- 
region is its monoton his does not result from poverty o 
species; on the conten they are numerous, but the resulting 
vegetation as a whole is very uniform over many miles of country. 
vi P sea semecarpifolia), Kohomba 
(Gleniea Popa Weverane (Per NB te At age 
ae — (Cassia Fistula), — 
ot ane more. The « siren © ually dense, consisting of 
