333 
Vegetables of Ceylon. 
It is no wonder tJiat the admirable shelter afforded by this 
noble tree should have pointed it out to the particular venera- 
tion of the inhabitants of the torrid zone. Indeed without the 
assistance of its impenetrable shade, it is almost impossible 
that the numerous ccweinonies enjoined by their superstition 
could have been at all performed. It is here therefore that 
we find the Brahmins and the devotees of their religion conti- 
nually celebrating their rites. The pagodas are usually erected 
ill the neighbourhood of this friendly shade, as well as the 
choultries prepared for the accommodation of the weary tra- 
veller. It is common for the Indian to take up his abode un- 
der this tree, and to remain stretched at his ease in the shade 
while every thing exposed to the rays of the sun is scorched 
with the intolerable heat. 
The cotton-tree of Ceylon grows to a middling height. It is 
slender and straight, with the branches shooting out near the 
top. The cotton grows in pods of an oblong shape, about the 
size of a small pear. When ripe they burst, and the cotton is 
then seen projecting out of them. In this state they are ga- 
thered. Within the pod a number of seeds like black pep- 
per are mixed with the cotton, from which they are separa- 
ted by little sticks in the form of a cross, which the women 
turn round very quick with their hands, and during this ope- 
ration the seeds fall out. The cotton procured from this tree 
is contaminated with an oily substance, and is not by any 
means equal in goodness to that which grows on the shrub 
in other parts India. It is however, much used for mat- 
rasses and pillows ; and coarse cloth, fit for common purposes^ 
is made of it. The wood is much employed in making fences. 
The tick-wood tree, which may be called the oak of Ceyloiij^ 
