256 
VEGETATION OF CEYLON. 
in 1820 its regular cultivation commenced. 
Sixteen years saw it flourishing in great 
abundance, and it is now considered as of 
superior quality. A story was once in circu- 
lation to account for the inferiority of the 
Ceylon coffee, which was in reality attributable 
to the practice of pulling the fruit before it 
was sufficiently ripe, but which may neverthe- 
less have had some foundation in truth. It 
was said that the native collectors were in the 
habit of dipping the fruit in the boiling water 
before it was perfectly dry; probably with the 
view of enlarging its bulk, and thus deriving 
a larger profit from its culture. At present 
this species of cultivation is not pursued with 
the same energy as formerly, a fact attributable 
to the depressed condition of the English 
market. 
The coffee-planter, having chosen a spot 
adapted for this species of culture, which is 
generally in a sheltered situation, employs 
coolies to clear away the jungle. A large 
number of these labour for some time at this 
task, and, to the uninitiated stranger, leave 
no result of their toil. Those versed in the 
operation, however, know that the plantation 
being almost invariably situated on a piece of 
sloping land, all the trees standing in a line are 
cut nearly through, so that when the tree stand- 
ing at the summit is at length felled, all those 
below it give way, and the immense mass of 
foliage bends, and sinks beneath the last stroke 
of the axe. A tremendous crash succeeds the 
preparation of each of these lines of trees, as 
a vast quantity of timber is from time to time 
added to the wreck of the jungle. 
The ground, being laid bare, is weeded and 
cleared of stones ; when the young shrubs 
transported from the nursery are planted 
somewhat closely, and watered by the rains 
which fall during this season. When they 
flower, a most beautiful appearance presents 
itself over the face of the tract of land so cul- 
tivated. A mass of silver flowers covers every 
branch and twig, glittering from amid the 
dark green and glossy foliage. When ripe, 
the fruit, of a rich red colour, weighs down 
the bough, whilst a delightful fragrance exhales 
itself above the plantation. The appearance 
of a country so planted has been described by 
a writer of the present day, as that of a vast 
park covered with silver-flowered laurels, 
mixed with gi*eat forest-trees, as, in clearing 
the jungle, a portion of the shade is reserved 
for the protection of the plants from the power 
of the sun in dry seasons : and water is con- 
ducted to the roots of the plants; for at cer- 
tain seasons they require a constant supply of 
moisture.* 
* " England's Colonial Empire. — Ceylon." By 
Charles Piidham. T. & W. Boone. An excellent 
The cinnamon gardens of Ceylon have 
long been celebrated for their beauty. They 
lie scattered over the face of the country at 
intervals, and sometimes extend over several 
thousands of acres. They appear like masses 
of laurel, or, rather, plants having leaves 
shaped like the laurel, with stems about the 
thickness of hazel. Occasionally a plant may 
be seen, which, having been allowed to grow 
for seed, has attained a height of forty or even 
fifty feet, from the summit of which a view 
may be obtained over the whole surface of 
the cinnamon gardens, dotted with myriads 
of pure white blossoms, which contrast 
brightly with the flame-coloured extremities 
of the upper, and the dark green of the in- 
ferior foliage. Among this the climbing 
monkey, or pitcher plant (Nepenthes distil- 
latoria), in company with the flame-coloured 
Gluriosa superba, entwines its tendrils around 
the umbrageous and spicy laurel, beneath 
whose shade also the scarlet flowered Ixora 
coccinea, and pink-petalled Vinca rosea, grow 
in wild luxuriance. A good anecdote is told 
by Mr. Pridham, in refutation of the idea 
which seems to have long existed among the 
vulgar errors of this country. 
" Strangers cruising along the western 
coasts of Ceylon have conjured up the notion 
of cinnamon breezes which they have pro- 
fessed to inhale many leagues at sea. This 
is a mere fancy; for if all the cinnamon trees 
in the island were barked simultaneously, the 
odour would not be perceived at the distance 
of a mile from the shore, being far from dif- 
fusive ; whereas that operation now takes 
place in particular spots, as the cinnamon 
becomes fit for the purpose, over an extensive 
surface, at uncertain periods, and in small 
quantities. The fragrance in question, unless 
altogether ideal, must therefore arise from 
the immense variety of odoriferous blossoms 
and flowers of the white orange, lime, shad- 
dock, white and yellow jasmine, and not 
least, Pandanus odorat.issimus. Mr. Bennet 
mentions, as a proof of the slight foundation 
for the superstition alluded to, that on one 
occasion, when the wind blew dead upon the 
land, the surgeon of an East-Indiaman, stand- 
ing off the island, having chanced to rub a 
little oil of cinnamon on the weather-ham- 
mock nettings, the griffins, or strangers, were 
so convinced of the reality of the cinnamon 
breeze, that one of them actually published an 
account of it, from his own experience, of its 
fragrance when many leagues at sea." 
We have said that the people of Ceylon 
have not progressed far in the practice of 
gardening. Nature is, indeed, the most taste- 
ful gardener there, for her plantations, un- 
book, somewhat faulty in arrangement, but full of 
interesting and valuable information. 
