THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, August 23, 1859. 
311 
could obtain them had pretty little bouquets, bunches of Fern, 
or small branches attached to the points of their bayonets. The 
whole line of march was a profusion of flags, long banderoles, 
garlands, and flower's at all the prominent points, and near the 
triumphal arches were hundreds of large flowering plants of 
every kind. Near the theatre of the Opera Comique, in par¬ 
ticular, a magnificent column was surrounded at the base with as 
many as would fill a suburban garden. This was protected by a 
neat trellis, and illuminated in the evening. In the churches it 
is the custom to decorate the precincts of the altar with a great 
many flowering plants, which in the evening are beautifully illu¬ 
minated by means of globe lamps placed among them at certain 
distances. At the present time the principal churches offer a 
splendid coup d'oeil in this way at night. 
THE CENTRAL MARKETS. 
No person coming to Paris for pleasure or sight-seeing should 
fail to go down to the Halles Centrales about four or five in the 
morning. On such occasions as the present this quarter is a rare 
scene of bustle, and all that comes from the garden or field may 
be seen here in the greatest profusion. These markets occupy 
an immense extent of ground, but at present they are not half 
large enough ; for all the adjoining streets are entirely taken up 
with the market-gardeners, even as far back as the Rue de Rivoli 
on one side and the Boulevard de Sebastopol on the other. The 
wide pavements are covered With fruit and vegetables; and, 
walking through the vast crowd of buyers and sellers, of porters 
and hucksters, there is an unvarying deafening hum of hoarse, I 
harsh, husky voices, which can only be compared to the roaring j 
of the weaves by the seashore. Then there are such singular 
brown sunburnt faces; such odd costumes, and such piles of I 
Melons, Cucumbers, Carrots, Cabbages, Leeks, Lettuces; such 
innumerable baskets and hampers of Apples, Pears, Figs, Plums, 
Grapes, and Peaches. Even at this early hour carts and vans 
from the hotels and restaurants are hurrying home with their 
loads ; for the whole population of Paris, it would seem, is 
already in the Boulevards, and market people and restaurants get 
very little sleep or rest at present. 
Turn now to the division of flowers. In every stall there are 
already scores of beautiful bouquets piled up ; and in an hour 
or two these, and as many more in the course of rapid formation, 
will have been bought up, and their places filled with fresh 
materials from the gardens of the suburbs. In every stall there 
are several extra hands as busy as possible. One is occupied in 
sorting the flowers, so that every colour and form may be sepa¬ 
rated from another; a second is tying the flowers on their 
slender reeds ; and these are in turn taken up by a third, who is 
constructing the bouquet. This sort of work will go on till late 
at night in all the flower-shops and markets of Paris. 
THE ILLUMINATIONS (AUGUST 16), 
"Were on a grand scale, especially in the Garden Imperial of the 
Tuilleries. But on the Boulevard des Italians the branches of ' 
several of the large trees were studded with coloured lamps ; 
and this form of illuminating, though less dazzling than others, 
was really the most beautiful of all, and was generally admired. 
The grandest display of all in the evening is the magnificent 
“ bouquet” which forms th efinale to the firew’orks. This takes 
place on the Place des Invalides, and may be seen from all the 
quais and bridges, which, on such occasions, are covered with 
• thousands of people, all pleased and happy with’ everything 
and with one another.—K. 
VARIETIES. 
The Forests op Ceylon.— It is much to be regretted that 
the want of the means of transport renders the timber of these 
forests perfectly valueless. From age to age these magnificent 
trees remain in then’ undisturbed solitudes, gradually increasing 
in their apparently endless growth, and towering above the dark 
vistas of everlasting silence. No one can imagine the utter still¬ 
ness which pervades these gloomy shades. There is a mysterious 
effect produced by the total absence of animal life. In the depths 
of these forests I have stood and listened for some sound until 
my ears tingled with overstrained attention ; not a chirp of a 
bird, not the hum of an insect, but the mouth of Nature is 
sealed. Not a breath of air has rustled a leaf, not even a falling 
fruit has broken the spell of silence; the undying verdure, the 
freshness of each tree, even in its mysterious age, create an idea 
of eternal vegetation, and the silvery, yet dim, light adds to the 
charm of the fairy-like solitude which gradually steals over the 
senses. I have ridden for fifteen or twenty miles through one 
of these forests without hearing a sound, except that of my 
horse’s hoof occasionally striking against a root. Neither beast 
nor bird is to be seen except upon the verge. The former has 
no food upon such barren ground; and the latter can find no 
berries, as the earth is sunless and free from vegetation. Not 
even monkeys are to be seen, although the trees must produce 
fruit and seed. Everything appears to have deserted the 
country, and to have yielded it as the sole territory of Nature 
on a stupendous scale. The creepers lie serpent-like along the 
ground to the thickness of a man’s waist, and, rearing their 
twisted forms on high, they climb the loftiest trees, hanging in 
festoons from stem to stem like the cables of a line-of-battle- 
ship, and extending from tree to tree for many hundred yards ; 
now failing to the earth and striking a fresh root, then, with 
increased energy, remounting the largest trunks, and forming a 
labyrinth of twisted ropes among the ceiling of the forest. From 
these creepers hang the Sabre Beans. Everything seems on a 
supernatural scale ; the bean-pod four feet or more in length, by 
three inches in breadth; the Beans two inches in diameter. Here 
may be seen the most valuable woods of Ceylon. The Ebony 
growing in great perfection and large quantity. This tree is at 
once distinguished from the surrounding stems by its smaller 
diameter and its sooty trunk. The bark is crisp, jet black, and 
has the appearance of being charred. Beneath the bark the wood 
is perfectly white until the heart is reached, which is the fine 
black ebony of commerce. Here also, equally immoveable, the 
Calamander is growing, neglected and unknown. This is the 
most esteemed of all Ceylon woods, and it is so rare that it 
realises a fancy price. It is something similar to the finest 
Walnut; the colour being a rich hazel brown, mottled and 
striped with irregular black marks. It is superior to Walnut in 
the extreme closeness of the grain and the richness of its colour. 
There aro upwards of eighty different woods produced in Ceylon, 
which are made use of for various purposes ; but of these many 
are very inferior. Those most appreciated are,—Calamander, 
Ebony, Satin-wood, chiefly used for furniture and cabinet work ; 
Suria' (the Tulip tree) ; Tamarind; Jackwood; Halmileel; 
Cocoa-nut; Palmyra, The Suria is an elegant tree, bearing a 
beautiful yellow blossom something similar to a Tulip, from 
which it derives its name. The wood is of an extremely close 
texture, and of a reddish-brown colour. It is exceedingly tough, 
and it is chiefly used for making the spokes of wheels. The 
Tamarind is a fine, dark, red wood, mottled with black marks ; 
but is not in general use, as the tree is too valuable to be felled 
for the sake of its timber. This is one of the handsomest trees 
of the tropics, growing to a very large size, the branches widely 
spreading, something like the Cedars of Lebanon. Jaclcwood is 
a coarse imitation of mahogany, and is used for a variety of pur¬ 
poses, especially for making cheap furniture. The latter is not 
only economical, but exceedingly durable, and is manufactured 
at so low a rate, that a moderate-sized house might be entirely 
furnished with it for £150. The fruit of the Jack grows from 
the trunk and branches of the tree, and when ripe it weighs 
about twenty pounds. The rind is rough, and when cut it exposes 
a yellow pulpy mass. This is formed of an infinite number of 
separate divisions of fleshy matter, which severally enclose an 
oval nut. The latter are very good when roasted, having a close 
resemblance to a Chestnut. The pulp, which is the real fruit, is 
not usually eaten by Europeans on account of its peculiar odour. 
This perfume is rather difficult to describe ; but when a rainy 
day in London crams an omnibus with well-soaked and steaming 
multitudes, the atmosphere in the vehicle somewhat approaches 
to the smell of the Jack-fruit. The Halmileel is one of the most 
durable and useful woods in Ceylon, and is almost the only kind 
that is thoroughly adapted for making staves for casks. Of late 
years the great increase of the oil trade has brought this wood 
into general request, consequent upon the increased demand for 
casks. So extensive and general is the present demand for this 
wood, that the natives arc continually occupied in conveying it 
from certain districts which a fesv years ago were utterly neglected. 
Unfortunately the want of roads and the means of transport 
confine their operations to the banks of rivers, down which the 
logs are floated at the proper season. I recollect some eight 
years ago crossing the Mahawelli river upon a raft which my 
coolies had hastily constructed, and reaching a miserable village 
near Monampitya, in the extreme north of the Veddali country, 
The river is here about 400 paces wide, and in the rainy season a 
