Ceyto?L] 



ORIENTAL COMMERCE. 



\$9 



fortress in Ceylon, extremely clean, and in a good state of repair. One 

 side runs parallel to the strait which separates the peninsula of Jaffna from 

 the rest of Ceylon ; the other sides are environed by an open and well- 

 cultivated plain. A large square occupies the centre of the fort, the interior 

 of which is a plot of grass, enclosed with neat rails, and bounded by streets 

 of excellent houses, shaded by majestic trees. 



About half a mile to the E. stands the pettah, or outward town, con- 

 taining several thousand inhabitants. All the streets are of a proper breadth, 

 one half of them running parallel to each other, and the other half inter- 

 secting them at right angles. The houses are neat and clean, and the 

 outer walls completely white. The principal street runs through the centre 

 of the town. All the native inhabitants are included under the description 

 of Malabars. About one half of them are Hindoos ; the other half are 

 nominal Christians, with a small proportion of Mahometans. Most of the 

 Dutch families who formerly resided at Trincomalee, have removed to this 

 place, which affords them cheaper living, and more agreeable retirement 

 The country is fruitful ; a constant bustle pervades the daily markets, and 

 a regular trade with the opposite coast of India affords many opportunities 

 of improving a small fortune. This is the only district of Ceylon, the 

 revenue of which exceeds its expences. 



ARTICLES PROCURABLE ON THE ISLAND OF CEYLON, W ITH 



DIRECTIONS. 



Calaminder Wood, ( Caluumidirie, Cingalese,) is the name given 

 to a beautiful wood, that takes a polish as smooth as a looking-glass ; 

 it is so hard, that the common edge-tools cannot work it, and must be 

 rasped and almost ground into shape. The heart or woody part of the 

 tree is extremely handsome, with whitish or pale yellow, and black or 

 brown veins, streaks, or waves; in the root these waves are closer and 

 darker. The nearer it is taken from the root, the more it is esteemed, as 

 higher up in the trees the veins arc thinner and paler. 



Cinnamon*. — The cinnamon tree, Lattrm Chmawmmm , (Varcftini, 

 Hind., Daraftifft, San.) is a species of laurel. The trees in their unculti- 

 vated state grow to the height of 20 to 30 feet; the trunk is about three 

 feet in circumference, and puts out a great number of large spreading 

 horizontal branches clothed with thick foliage. The roots are fibrous, hard 

 and tough, covered with an odoriferous bark ; on the outside of a greyish 

 brown, and on the inside of a reddish hue. They strike about three feci 



