THE ISLAND OF CEYLON. 
33 
northerly latitude. This is owing to the constant sea-breezes 
by which it is fanned, without being subject to the hot and 
suffocating land-winds, which so frequently annoy the Continent. 
For this reason, although the perpendicular beams of the sun 
must of course be intensely hot, the shade and the houses 
always afford a tolerably cool retreat. 
This temperate climate, however, is chiefly confined to the 
coast where the sea-breezes have room to circulate. In the 
interior of the country, owing to the thick and close woods, 
and the hills which crowd upon each other, the heat is many 
degrees greater than on the sea-coast, and the climate often 
extremely sultry and unhealthy. This inconvenience, however, 
might be in a great degree obviated by cutting down the 
woods and clearing the jungles, as has been proved by a tract 
in the neighbourhood of Trincomalee, cleared by Colonel 
Champagne since it came into our possession, and thus ren- 
dered much less noxious to Europeans. 
The principal harbours in the island for large ships, are 
Trincomalee and Point de Galle ; they also come to anchor, 
and at certain seasons of the year moor securely in the roads 
of Columbo. There are several other inferior ports all around 
the island, which afford shelter to the smaller coasting ves- 
sels. These are Batacolo, Matura, Barbereen, and Caltura on 
the south-east; and on the north and west, are Nigumbo, 
Chilou, Calpenteen, Manaar, and Point Pedro. At all of those 
places are rivers of greater or less magnitude emptying them- 
selves into the sea. These rivers, which are for the most 
f 2 
