;mo 
THE ISLAND OF CEYLON. 
branches fit for barking have been stript off, it is cus- 
tomary to set fire to it, and burn it down to the ground ; the 
roots are seen to shoot up again in long straight plants, much 
better formed than the preceding ones. From these are cut 
the highly - esteemed cinnamon walking-sticks, which when 
fresh are of a lively green, resembling holly, but after some 
time the bark becomes shrivelled, and they have very much 
the appearance of hazle-sticks. They still, however, retain 
the taste and smell of cinnamon. The bark of these shoots 
is extremely valuable, and the practice of cutting them when 
young for sticks has been found to prove so materially inju- 
rious, that it has been totally prohibited since the island 
came into our possession. 
There are several different species of cinnamon trees on 
the island ; at least, trees which in appearance resemble 
them. Four sorts however are alone barked, and all these 
are species of the plant I have all along been describing, 
the laiirus cinnamomum. Cinnamon is known among the 
natives by the name of curimdu , and it is by various 
epithets joined to this appellation that the several kinds are 
distinguished. The rasse curundu , or honey-cinnamon, is 
distinguished by its large, broad, thick leaves, and is ac- 
counted to have the finest flavour. The nai curimdu, or 
snake cinnamon, has also large leaves, and is not greatly 
inferior in quality to the former. The capuru curundu, or 
camphor cinnamon is an inferior species : its root yields 
camphor by distillation; or if an incision be made in it, 
