Aug. 1, 1900.] Supplement to the „Tropical Agriculturist.'" 
l47 
vrithin the forests. The most important belt of 
forest stretches from the Northern Province, 
mostly between the centre line of the Island and 
the east coust down to the Himbaiitota district, 
but important block- are also fi and scattered 
over the re.-tof the Isbnid, chii fly in the Puttalum 
district of the Nuri h-We>leru Fi >\iiice und iu the 
upper hills, but also in the Kurunegala di-trict of 
the North-Western Province, ni the Western, 
fioutlieru, and Sibarugamuwa Provinces, where 
are still to be found, in isolated block-*, the re- 
mains of what wa.s at one time the extensive 
Siugha flajft Forest. 
The vegetation of the forests varie* especially 
according to rainfall and elevation, and the 
forests can be classified according to the following 
zones and subzones :- - 
Dry Zones. 1 Arid zone. Eainfull 35 to 50 in. 
Kaintall35 to l Dry zone proper. Rainfall 60 to 
70 inches. | 70 inches. 
Intermediate none. Eaiufall 70 to 80 inches. 
Wet Zone. \ Lowcountry zoue from sea level 
Rainfall 80 iu. \ to 4,000 feet. 
and more. J Mountain zone above 4,000 feet. 
The Dry Zone. — This includes about iiiree-fifch* 
of the L-luud, viz., the whole of the Northern, 
North-Central, and Eastern Provinces, the Put- 
talam district and portion of the Kurnnegala and 
Chilaw districts, the North-VVestern Province, the 
northern part of the Ceutriil Province, about two- 
thirds of the Province of Uv», the Hambantota 
district of the Southern Province, tind the 
Kolonna E.orale of the province of Sabaragaumwa. 
The Western Province is theiefoie the only one 
of which no portion enters in the dry zone. 
The Arid Zone occupies the north-western end 
of the island m the Put talam, Mannar and Jaffna 
districts, and the south-eastern ia the Hamban- 
tota district. The characteristic trees and shrubs 
of this subzciie are Saluadora persica, Atima 
tetracantha, and Acacia eburnea near the coast, 
vlmA Acacia plamfrus on the island of Mannar. 
The woody vegetation is usually shrubby and 
thorny, being represented by Carissa opinosum, 
Zizyphus jujiiba, Z. (Enoplia, Z. rugosa, Randia 
dumetorum, Flacourtia paniontcki, &c- Further 
from the coast the forest vegetation is composed 
of the same, species as of the forests of the dry 
zone proper, but the trees are usually smaller and 
the undergrowth is composed mainly of Memecylon 
and of Stenosiphonium rulyseinaum. The Palmyra 
palm {Borassus flabelliformisi) is found on sandy 
soil both in this sub-districts, especially iu the 
Jaffna Peninsula, 
The forests of the Dry Zone proper are the most 
important to the forester, not only because they 
are the most extentive, but also because they 
contain most of the valuable timber trees. The 
most imi)Orcant of these are satinwood {Chloroxylon 
swietenia) found on sandy s /lis, and attaining its 
best dimea.4oi)s ia the Puttalam and Baiticaloa 
districts ; Euony {Diospyros ebenum), which pre- 
fers rocky, undulating ground, and which, al- 
though found occasionally in the wet, lowcountryj 
is almost abundant in the Northern, North-Central, 
and North-Western Provincesj and in the Trinco- 
malee and Matale districts ; Palu (Mitnusops 
hsxan^fet^i which is found on more clayey soils 
from th» North to the South of the leland. It 
attains an eaormoaa tise, and grows be^^t, if any ' 
where, in the Northern Province, It is one of the 
iron woods of commerce. Trincomalee wood 
{Berrya Ammonilla) is found in moist hut well- 
diaiuecl phices. It extends into part of the wet 
zone, but the trees are u.-ually smiU .-ize. The 
fine>t trees are found in the ei>iern P'Ution of 
the Province of Uva,. Milla ( Vitex alfissima) <me 
of the strongest of Ceylon timbers, extend-- also 
into the wet zone, where it is not uncommon ; 
but, like the Berrya, it is n much finer tre>i in the 
dry zone, especially in the Eiis ern Piovince. 
The same raay be said of Ranai (Alseodaphne 
semecarpifolia), although it is not so common iu 
the wet zone as milla. The Ebenacese are (apart 
from Ebony) represented in this zone chiefly by 
D. ovalifolia, while D. crumenata, D. Oocarpa, 
D. embrejopteris and D. montana are alsi> found 
abundant in certain localities ; and M aba bur if alia 
is a very small tree which is by no means un- 
common even iu the arid zone. Of the Guttiferae 
we have chiefly Garcinia spicata, Calophyllum 
burmani, and, near streams or in groves, planted 
before the memory of man, Mesua ferra. The 
Dipterocarps, which are so . characteristic of the 
lowcountrj' wet zone are almost absent, being 
only represented bj' Vatica obscura iu moist soils 
in the Eastern Province, and by Hopea cordifolia 
along streams in Southern Uva and Sabaragamuwa, 
Among trees which are characteristic of this zone 
the most common are Polyalthia longifolia, P. 
coffeenides, L'rateeva Roxburghii Pterospermum sub- 
erifolium, Sterculia fcetida, Azadirackta indica, 
Walsura piscidia, Pleurostylia Wiyhtil, Sehleichera 
trijga, Nephelium longana, Odina Wodier, Cassia 
fistula, C. marginata. Bauhinia tomentosa, Acacia 
leucophloea, Acacia ferruginea, Gyrocarpus Jac- 
quini, Eugenia jambolana, Barrinytonia acutan- 
gula, Adina cordifolia, Canthium didegvum, Bas- 
ua longifolia, Termmalia fabra (near streams and 
tanks), Strychnos Nux vomica, Cordia Rothii, 
Stereospermumchelonioides, Euphorbia antiquoreum 
Sapium insigne, Hemicyclia sepiaria, Miechodon 
zeylanicus, floloptelea integrifolia , &c- 
The most common shrubs are Polyalthia 
korinti, Allophyllus cobbe, Oihna squarrosa, Cas- 
sia auriculata, Alangium Lamarchii, Webera 
corymbosa, Raudia dumetorum, Gmelina asiatica, 
Memecylon, Glycosmis pentaphylla, and Dimor- 
phocalyx fabellus. Creepers and climbers are not 
so well represented as in the moisture zones, th« 
most abundant being Hugonia mystax, Ventilago 
maderaspatana, some species of Vitis, Derris 
soandens, D. sinnata, &c. The most beautiful 
orchids found in this zone are, without doubt, 
Saccolabrium guttatrun, which is found in the 
Eastern Province, and Vanda Roxburghii and 
V. spathulata, which are found chiefly not far 
from the sea. Vanda parviflora and Saccolabrium 
Wightianum are not uncommon, while a pretty 
little white ground orchid, Habenaria pterocarpa, 
\i found in the rocky places. The ferns of this 
zone are not abundant, the Adiantmn candatum 
penetrating farther into the dry districts thanany 
other, while Hemionitis arifolia and Gymnopteris 
quercifolia\arQ found ia dark and moist places, 
while Oil rocks grow Cheilantkes mysorenais, C, 
loxa and the tiny Ophioglosaum limtanicum. 
In the Intermediate zone treet. of both the dry 
and the lowcouutry moist ^ne ars to ts found, 
tach ae JStrrya ammonilh, Kiphsinm lun^stnti, 
