No. 53.— 1902.] 



PROCEEDINGS. 



calamander, tamarind, &c, and whether it was true that the last 

 calamander was found recently in that part of the Island. 



Mr. Lewis thanked Sir W. W. Mitchell and the seconder of the re- 

 solution for their appreciation of his Paper. With regard to valuable 

 trees, it was a curious fact that they regarded those trees as valuable 

 from their acquaintance with furniture. (Laughter.) They were 

 acquainted with satinwood, because they found satin wood tables and 

 almirahs : they were acquainted also in that way with calamander, 

 a very rare and exceedingly restricted plant. Tamarind they also 

 knew as furniture ; and besides they knew it for its medicinal qualities, 

 as there was a medicinal drink made from it. Of other trees, such as 

 ebony, they had a very considerable quantity in the Island ; but in the 

 two Provinces under consideration only a restricted area. It was a 

 common error to say that it did not grow to a high altitude. It reached 

 3,000 feet, but only to a limited extent ; and he did not say that it 

 grew in such large quantities at high altitudes that they would be able 

 to " do a huge business " in it. 



As regards calamander, it was becoming almost extinct. He had the 

 good fortune to be the original discoverer of the flower of the cala- 

 mander tree in the Island. On finding that extremely rare thing — his 

 friends called it a monstrosity — the Peradeniya people sent a man up 

 the tree forthwith. (Laughter.) He had only found the flower of the 

 calamander after searching for many years, and after offering a reward 

 year after year. He did that because he was anxious to discover 

 whether there was not some way of extending the growth of calamander ; 

 which, as the Members of the Society were no doubt aware, was 

 indigenous to Ceylon, and found in no other part of the world. It 

 was exceedingly uncommon, and the area of growth was restricted ; 

 indeed in an average map of Oeylon the area of growth would be 

 covered by an ordinary postage stamp, and that in the wildest and most 

 inaccessible parts, with long distances separating the male and female 

 trees. It naturally followed that, where male and female were such 

 long distances apart, the chances of getting seed were very remote ; 

 and, particularly, when they considered the fact that if anybody found 

 a healthy tree, male or female, it was immediately cut down for the 

 sake of its wood. He had been told that the calamander had been 

 found in the dry zone, but he was sorry that he could not credit that 

 as truth ; because the result of his examination of what had been shown 

 from the dry zone and the tree of the wet zone proved that there was 

 as much comparison as there was between a cabbage and a mango. 

 (Laughter). 



Of the other valuable plants of Ceylon, one that was insufficiently 

 appreciated in the country was palu (Mimusops hexandra). Roughly 

 speaking, in the dry zone that plant should be found over two-thirds 

 of the area, and the day would come when it would receive its full 

 appreciation. Palu necessitated proper machinery for cutting it 

 up, as it was an exceedingly hard timber to deal with. Palu was very 

 valuable. As regards other woods, there was a very large quantity 

 of those woods mostly known as jakwood ; but that, as a domestic 

 plant the fruit of which was so largely consumed by the natives, 

 was in no danger of being exterminated. But as regards calamander^ 

 he thought they were running the risk of its complete extinction. 

 (Applause.) 



