J^O 5 # — 1849.] NATURAL HISTORY (TAMIL). 161 



2. Mullainila-vilanku, or those that live in woodland 

 country, such as the deer, the hare, &c. 



3. Marutanila-vilanku, or those that live in corn -fields, 

 such as the buffalo, the water-dog, &c. 



4. Pdlainila-vilanku, or those that live in sandy deserts, 

 such as the wild dog. 



5. Kodilvdl-vilanku, or those that live upon the branches 

 of trees, such as the monkey, the squirrel, &c. 



The birds are distinguished as follows : — 



1. Kurinchinilap paravai, or those belonging to the 

 hilly country, such as the parrot, the peacock, &c. 



2. Mullainilap paravai, or those found in the woodland 

 country, such as the wild fowl. 



3. Marulanilap paravai, or those that frequent corn- 

 fields, such as the heron, the andil, the pelican, the swan, 

 the water-fowl, the duck, &c, 



4. Pdlainilap paravai, or those peculiar to sandy deserts, 

 such as the dove, the kite, the eagle, &c. 



5. Neytalnilap paravai, or those that are located near 

 the sea, such as the sea-eagle. 



The fishes are simply divided into Kadal-min, or the 

 sea-fish, and A'ttu-min, or the river-fish. 



With regard to the vegetable kingdom, the grasses, the 

 esculent greens, the creepers, the edible roots, and the mosses 

 being respectively arranged under the the heads of Pul, 

 Kirai, Kodi, Kilanku, and Past ; the trees are distinguished 

 into A'n-maram, or the male, Pen-maram, or the female, 

 and Ali-maram or the hermaphrodite ; these distinctions 

 are not, however, as in the Linnsean system, founded upon 

 the differences in the structure of the flowers, but upon the 

 differences in the texture of the stems : thus, trees the inside 

 of which is harder than the outside, as the ebony, fall under 

 the class of male trees ; those the outside of which is harder 

 than the inside, as the palmirah, fall under the class of 



