36 
RUBBER PLANTING IN CEYLON 
that during the conquest of the island by the British, many a private 
soldier lay down in the jungle after an exhausting day's march and 
never awoke, his veins being literally drained dry by the swarming 
leeches. They are as tough as if made of India-rubber, and about the 
only way to kill them is with fire. If cut in two, the separated parts 
will join together again, and they are always voracious, active, and 
absolutely devoid of fear. 
