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JOURNAL. R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL XXI. 



neighbourhood of caves that at one time — as was abundantly 

 plain — were inhabited. 



The occupants of these caves, possibly Buddhist monks, were 

 constrained to adopt a strict economy as regards water, with 

 the result that cleanliness of person was not next to godliness. 



A very natural outcome of this state of affairs was, that 

 these cave-dwellers suffered torments with cutaneous diseases, 

 for which the oil expressed from the seeds of the kina was 

 found to be a ready and valuable specific, and thus accounting 

 for the presence of this otherwise fish- out -of -water tree. 

 Here, therefore, the pineapple and the kina tree are both 

 accounted for, and as the evidence of constructive genius is 

 amply displayed in the ruins on " Westminster Abbey," it is 

 not, I think, unreasonable to suppose that the begonia was 

 introduced out of regard for its natural beauty, just as much 

 as the mimusops for its value as a building timber. 



I append to this Paper a catalogue of the plants I observed 

 above 1,000 feet altitude on the "Westminster Abbey" 

 mountain, and I take the opportunity of expressing my. 

 warmest obligations to Mr. J. K. Nock of the Hakgala gardens 

 for his valuable assistance in determining for me both ferns 

 and orchids, that we collected at the time. 



I noticed, with some surprise, that the birds found on and 

 round the summit of ' f Westminster Abbey " were singularly 

 few in point of species as well as individual numbers ; thus , 

 the list consisted of a hawk (Accipiter virgatus), a fly-catcher 

 (Hypothymis ceylonensis) , a " sun- bird " (Dicceum eryth- 

 rorhynchus), two bulbuls (Hypsipetes ganeesa and Molpastes 

 hcemorrhous), a drongo (Dissemurus paradiseus), two barbets 

 (Megalcema Zeylanica and Xantholcema ruhricapilla), and a 

 swallow (Hirundo hyperythra). 



Of course this number became enormously increased as we 

 reached the base of the hill, but it is significant that so few 

 manifested themselves, especially at this particular time of 

 the year. 



2. — Deyigal-hela. 



Passing from " Westminster Abbey " to Deyigal-hela one 

 traverses a country populated with typically dry-zone plants. 

 The stream beds that I crossed were, with hardly an exception, 



