400 
RECOLLECTIONS OF A JOUBNEV 
, The lemon-grass is burned annually by the natives^. 
The young shoots which spring up after this operation are 
much relished by cattle. It is for the purpose of affording 
a rich and tender pasture that the old lemon-grass is con- 
sumed. 
, We saw very little ground under cultivation during this 
day's journey ; indeed there was very little level surface on 
either side of the pathway, which would admit of being 
cultivated. Most of the small paddy-fields which we passed 
during this day, appeared to have been originally merely 
water-courses, that had been enlarged by human labour. 
By cutting away a portion of the sloping part of the hill 
on each side of the rivulet, and depositing the earth in the 
centre of the ravine, a small flat is formed, which becomes 
easily irrigated from the water-course that is made to run 
along one of its sides. 
At the upper corner of these small triangular fields, we 
sometimes saw an apparently snug little cottage thatched 
with straw, and half hidden from view by the trees which 
surrounded it. The Kandyan cottages are in general deeply 
embowered in trees and low jungle* At a distance, the 
residence of a Kandyan is discovered by the nature of the 
trees and shrubs that grow around his dwelling. These 
are chiefly the broad-leaved talipot, the tall coco-nut, the 
erect and stately jagery tree, the elegant and slender areca, 
the dark-green-leaved jack, the luxuriant plantain, and the 
silvery glistening kokun-gaha. 
, Within about a mile of Ambegamme, there is, at the 
right side of the pathway, a large fragment of rock, nearly 
covered with inscriptions, in a character unknown to the 
natives of the country. 
Ambegamme lies on the right bank of the Pasbage river, 
and close to a ford which we crossed. There are only two 
