jan. — mar. 1858.] the Ttamncore Backwater. 



215 



ever be made available for the purpose of ship building the advan- 

 tages would be incalculable. The river would float down timber 

 direct from the forests, and the possession of a harbour of refuge 

 like this on the Western Coast would be beneficial in the highest 

 degree to the interests of Commerce. 



The banks of the water are covered with many interesting plants, 

 and among them will be found Bruguiera, Rhizophora, Cerbera Odol- 

 lam, Dilivaria ilicifolia, Excoecaria Camettia> Scc&vola Taccada, tyc. 

 The latter shrub (Rheede calls it arbor excelsa) contains a very acrid 

 caustic juice of which the Natives are greatly afraid. With much 

 difficulty I persuaded them to collect a small quantity. If the juice 

 gets into the eyes the pain would be intense, perhaps causing loss of 

 sight. Other trees*" found here are Alstonia scholaris, Calosanthes 

 Indica, Terminalia catappa, Ailanthus Malabaricus, while in the 

 low lands and paddy fields Sphceranthus hirtus^ Utricularice, Sphce- 

 noclea Zeylanica, and Asteracantha longifolia are common two or 

 three miles beyond Quilon, the scenery becomes* more tame and 

 monotonous, the passage being sometimes through canals occasion- 

 ally expanding into broad sheets of water. The sea beach at times 

 is very near, the sandy hillocks peeping out here and there between 

 the strips of jungle, or Cocoa palms and fishing villages. The 

 sands are partly covered with Ipomcea pes-caprce, Spinifex squarrosus 

 and Dactylon lagopoides. The singular Mangrove tribe is common 

 along the backwater. It is curious to remark the wonderful pro- 

 vision of nature displayed in this family of plants for the preser- 



* The Revd. E. Johnston lately furnished us with a list of Orchids found by 

 him in the Travancore Forests, which appropriately finds a place here. — JiD. M. J. 

 Pholidota imbricata, Saccolabium rubrum, 



Eria paucifiora, Cottonia macros tachys, 



Calogyne corrugata, JErides Lindleyana, 



Dendrobium JiLiforme, • Wightiana, 



macrostachyum, Sarcanthus pauctflorus,, 



ramosissimvm, Polystachya purpurea, 



barbatulum, Cymbidium aloifolium, 



Bolbophyllum tremulum, • triste, 



— ; Neilgherrense, Geodorum dilatatum, 



Lichenora , Eulophia virens, 



Arundina bambusifolia, Josephia lanceolata, 



Vanda spathulata, latifolia, 



Iloxburghii, Habenaria Jerdoniana, 



Wightiana, Podoohilus Malabar icus, 



Saccolabium XVightianum, and others not determined. 

 guttatum. 



— papillosum, 



