92 



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





Altitude! 



Mean Rainfall. 





Feet. 



Tn f*lr% oa 



Agar's Land 



2,115 



157-43 



Chetnole 



2,100 



13307 



Ambanpitiya 



729 



125-46 



Yataderiya 



800 



143 84 



Eadella ... 



425 



96-92 



Mahawalatenna 



1,500 



101-86 



Maduwanwela 



750 



67-45 



Hulanda-oya 



203 



55-82 



Eratne ... 



1,200 Approximately 300-00 



It will be seen, therefore, that the vegetation within the 

 area described comes within both wet and dry zones, in 

 addition to the corresponding changes due to altitude as well. 



Both south-west and north-east monsoons sweep across the 

 two Provinces with more or less severity, but the latter 

 monsoon is not attended with as much wind as the former. 



The driest part of the area under consideration lies at the 

 foot of the Rakwana hills, extending towards Hambantota. 

 Here prolonged droughts are of yearly occurrence, and the 

 corresponding forms of vegetation are conspicuous, such as 

 Palu (Mimusops hexandra), Satinwood (Chloroxylon Swie- 

 fcenia), Diwul (Feronia elephantum), Cratseva Roxburghii, 

 Gyrocarpus Jacquini, Cassia Fistula, and numbers of other 

 typically dry zone trees. 



On the other hand, the wettest parts of the country lie 

 close to and around the base of Adam's Peak. Here a drought 

 of ten days without rain is unusual, and consequently the 

 vegetation is chiefly composed of soft wood and abundance 

 of bamboos and grasses. 



The soil of the Province is also very variable as regards its- 

 quality and depth. The best and richest soil is undoubtedly 

 coincident with the dry zone, but there are several valleys 

 beside in which a rich soil is present, as, for instance, in the 

 valley of the Maha-oya, the valley of the Ritigaha-oya, and 

 the valley of the Rakwana-ganga. 



Poor sandy soil, however, represents by far the larger area 

 of either Province, even to a fairly high altitude, but it is 



