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JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XV. 



which is below the level of the sea, is beaten down and 

 levelled and partitioned off into numerous beds (uppu- 

 patti) by means of low dams. A portion of the kalap- 

 puwa or bay is " bunded " off into a reservoir (kachchu- 

 patti) y in which the water undergoes a preparatory 

 process by evaporation. Brodie gives the average size of a 

 reservoir as 40 or 50 ft. square, that of a bed 15 to 20 ft. in 

 length by 8 to 12 ft. in breadth ; but no particular attention is 

 paid to this. Water from the reservoir is then introduced 

 into] the pan by means of a canal (allei), and by smaller 

 canals {per allei) into the various beds till crystallization 

 occurs. Fresh quantities are from time to time let in as 

 the crystallization goes on till the necessary depth of salt is 

 formed. 



The process commences in June and usually lasts till 

 September. The salt is then collected and placed in heaps, 

 and ultimately conveyed to the Jcottus or huts in which it is 

 stored till handed over to, weighed, and received by the 

 Government authorities into their stores. The construction 

 of these stores has been the subject of much discussion and 

 anxious thought and consideration. During the time of 

 Brodie they were "in some instances formed of cadjans, 

 sometimes of masonry, and sometimes altogether of timber, 

 and of these latter some were placed over pits four or five 

 feet in depth, while others were raised on dwarf pillars to 

 prevent injuries from water. The cadjan stores require 

 constant repair and are seldom quite water-tight ; the mortar 

 of the masonry ones soon becomes disintegrated by the action 

 of the salt, the timber stores over pits were found inconvenient 

 and damp, those on pillars unnecessarily expensive, it being 

 observed that white ants do not attack timber saturated with 

 salt ; plain wooden structures placed on somewhat elevated 

 sites appear therefore the most suitable, and will probably 

 be universally adopted."* 



* Journal, C.B.R.A.S., No. 3, 1847-48, p. 109. 



