VOYAGE FROM INDIA TO SIAM AND MALACCA. 131 



The soil of this field consisted of a little grey clay and many 

 particles of cardia, but nevertheless the rice grew very well 

 and had large eais. The field was surrounded by a high, thick 

 wood. I did not find anything new, only the seed of a tree, the 

 wood of which is considered to be the best for building purposes 

 in Ceylon ; I have however not succeeded yet in finding any of 

 its blossoms, 



29. — I went with our captain and the passengers of our ship 

 to the capital, which lies about three German miles from this town. 

 We made the journey in a large covered boat. The shore on 

 either side was very low, muddy, and flooded at high tide, and 

 closely overgrown with such trees as like salt-water and a 

 muddy soil, as Rhizophora Granata, Littorea, etc. 



Underneath these trees lay several crocodiles sunning them- 

 selves and swallowing some mud from time to time. Their back 

 is almost as grey as the mud ; their peculiarity is that they have 

 a flattened body. Their stomach is white. I was not so lucky 

 as to get one of them, as they live in muddy places which 

 are unattainable either by boat or by walking. Nearer the 

 capital, where the water is less salt, there grew on either side of 

 the shore the new kind of palm, Nipa ; they stood so close to- 

 gether, that one could not see beyond, but they offered an agree- 

 able and strange aspect. The stream now divided into two arms, 

 which ran parallel for some time and so doubled the agreeable 

 view. I have already mentioned what use is made of the leaves, 

 and I only add that the Chinese preserve the grains of these 

 fruits in sugar ; they are transparent in this state, but have no 

 special taste, except that the spice added may give them some 

 flavour. 



After ten o'clock we arrived in the town ; the shores were 

 a little higher and we saw every now and then a Malay 

 house. 



The town lies on the left bank of the river; it is only small, 

 and irregularly built. The king's dwelling is somewhat apart 

 from the town. The real buildings are surrounded by a fence 

 about two men high, and as much as one could see from the out- 

 side, it consisted of many small separate houses, built of planks 

 and rafters. Only the building serving for audiences stood out- 

 side the fence. It was built on poles which stood at man's 

 height above the ground, and was covered with the leaves of 



