INTRODUCTION. 
XVII 
Water-birds and “ Waders” which affect the numerous tanks* in the heart of the jungle. The 
most luxuriant vegetation in this part of the island is to be found on the banks of the rivers, 
where the Koombook ( Terminalia glabra) is one of the most characteristic trees. In the drier 
parts the forest is sprinkled plentifully with the iron-wood ( Mimusops indica), the fruit of 
which is the favourite food of many birds. The open scrubby belt of land bordering the 
N.Wi coast, as also the island of Manaar and parts of the peninsula of Jaffna, are characterized 
by a very different flora. Here almost every tree is of a thorny nature, and the low and almost 
impenetrable masses of brushwood are filled with Euphorbia-trees ( Euphorbia antiquorum ), which 
is the characteristic plant of the district. This region is the home of plain-loving birds, such as 
Pyrrliidauda grisca , ilf crops viridis , Jtfunia malabarica , and is the almost exclusive habitat of 
Buchanga atra, Lanius caniceps, Turtur risorhts, Ortygornis pondiceriana , and Cursorius coro- 
mandelicus, which appear to have extended their range from the Carnatic hither and not passed 
beyond the forests which hem in the district. Here, too, is the great haunt of the migratory 
Waders, which sw 7 arm on the muddy flats between Jaffna and Manaar, and also congiegate lound 
the salt lagoons of the N.E. coast. These latter are surrounded with heavy jungle, inhabited by 
the same birds as further inland, but which stands back at some distance from their grass-begirt 
shores. 
Southward of the region just considered we have on the west coast the damp, luxuriant, 
typically Ceylonese region, cultivated with rice in some parts and in others clothed with tall forest, 
of which the characteristic trees are the gigantic Hora ( Dipterocarpus zeylonensis), the Doon 
( Doona affinis and Doona congestiflora), the stately Keena ( Galycophyllum tomentosmn), and the lofty 
Dawata ( Carallia integerrima). This tract, which comprises the Western Province and “ South- 
western Hill-district,” is intersected with ranges and groups of hills heavily timbered m some parts 
* Many of these large irrigation-works claim a place among the most gigantic monuments of ancient enterprise and 
labour ; they literally astonish the traveller and fill his mind with wonder as he stands on the vast bunds and looks dow n 
on the wild and lonely scene, pondering on the means and appliances which the engineers of those distant times must 
have used to get the great stoues in their places. Whole valleys have been dammed up, and sometimes the strong floods 
of three rivers thrown back and spread out into a great lake, the waters of which must have irrigated thousands of square 
miles. The bund of the great Padewiya tank extends for 11 miles across a valley, and in olden times, before this 
enormous embankment was broken down by the rush of mighty floods, the water was, as Emerson Tennent tells us, 
thrown back for 15 miles along the valley. I regret to say I never visited this tank ; but I have seen other bunds of 
great size, of which perhaps that which holds back the waters of Kanthelai tank is the finest. This tank, which has 
been lately restored, was built by King Maha Sin, a.d. 275; and the following details kindly furnished me by Mr. E. 
Scott Barber, C.E., who repaired the bund, may not be uninteresting to my readers : ‘ ' When up to spill-le\ el ( 22 feet), 
the tank contains 3580 acres, and is 17 miles round. The bund is 60 feet high and 290 feet in width at the bottom ; it 
is 6800 feet in length, and contains 19,121,296 cubic yards of material. It is ‘pitched’ with large boulders from 
bottom to 60 feet up the slope and from 3 to 4 courses deep. The outlet was by two culverts 4 feet by 2 feet, situated 
at either end of the bund; the stones forming them average 1| to 2 tons in weight, and are 1 tongued ’ together m the 
centre ” The top of this mighty embankment was about 60 yards wide and covered with jungle and large trees. As it 
^ 3 , it gave one the impression, when walking along it, of standing on a natural ridge or long low hill ! 
