The plain of Nuwara Eliya, the sanatorium of the island, is at an elevation of 6200 ft., and possesses many of the attributes of an alpine country. The climate of the Horton plains, at an elevation of 7000 ft., is still finer than that of Nuwara Eliya, but they are difficult of access, and are but little known to Europeans. The town of Kandy, in the Central Province, formerly the capital of the native sovereigns of the interior, is situated 1727 ft. above sea-level.
The island, though completely within the influence of oceanic evaporation, and possessing an elevated tableland of considerable extent, does not boast of any rivers of great volume. The rains which usher in each monsoon or change ofRivers. season are indeed heavy, and during their fall swell the streams to torrents and impetuous rivers. But when these cease the water-courses fall back to their original state, and there are few of the rivers which cannot generally be passed on horseback. The largest river, the Mahaweliganga, has a course of 206 m., draining about one-sixth of the area of the island before it reaches the sea at Trincomalee on the east coast. There are twelve other considerable rivers, running to the west, east and south, but none of these exceeds 90 m. in length. The rivers are not favourable for navigation, except near the sea, where they expand into backwaters, which were used by the Dutch for the construction of their system of canals all round the western and southern coasts. Steamers ply between Colombo and Negombo along this narrow canal and lake. A similar service on the Kaluganga did not prove a success. There are no inland lakes except the remains of magnificent artificial lakes in the north and east of the island, and the backwaters on the coast. The lakes which add to the beauty of Colombo, Kandy, Lake Gregory, Nuwara Eliya and Kurunegala are artificial or partly so. Giant’s Tank is said to have an area of 6380 acres, and Minneri and Kalawewa each exceed 4000 acres.
The magnificent basin of Trincomalee, situated on the east coast of Ceylon, is perhaps unsurpassed in extent, security and beauty by any haven in the world. The admiralty had a dockyard here which was closed in 1905.
Geology.—Ceylon may be said to have been for ages slowly rising from the sea, as appears from the terraces abounding in marine shells, which occur in situations far above high-water mark, and at some miles distance from the sea. A great portion of the north of the island may be regarded as the joint production of the coral polyps and the currents, which for the greater part of the year set impetuously towards the south; coming laden with alluvial matter collected along the coast of Coromandel, and meeting with obstacles south of Point Calimere, they have deposited their burdens on the coral reefs round Point Pedro; and these, raised above the sea-level and covered deeply by sand drifts, have formed the peninsula of Jaffna, and the plains that trend westward till they unite with the narrow causeway of Adam’s Bridge. Tertiary rocks are almost unknown. The great geological feature of the island is the profusion of gneiss, overlaid in many places in the interior by extensive beds of dolomitic limestone. This formation appears to be of great thickness; and when, as is not often the case, the under-surface of the gneiss series is exposed, it is invariably found resting on granite. Veins of pure quartz and felspar of considerable extent have been frequently met with in the gneiss; while in the elevated lands of the interior in the Galle districts may be seen copious deposits of disintegrated felspar, or kaolin, commonly known as porcelain clay. At various elevations the gneiss may be found intersected by veins of trap rock, upheaved whilst in a state of fusion subsequent to the consolidation of the former. In some localities on the seashore these veins assume the character of pitch-stone porphyry highly impregnated with iron. Hornblende and primitive greenstone are found in the vicinity of Adam’s Peak and in the Pussellava district. Laterite, known in Ceylon as kabuk, a product of disintegrated gneiss, exists in vast quantities in many parts, and is quarried for building purposes.
Climate.—The seasons in Ceylon differ very slightly from those prevailing along the coasts of the Indian peninsula. The two distinctive monsoons of the year are called, from the winds which accompany them, the south-west and the north-east. The former is very regular in its approach, and may be looked for along the south-west coast between the 10th and 20th of May; the latter reaches the north-east coast between the end of October and the middle of November. There is a striking contrast in the influence which the south-west monsoon exerts on the one side of the island and on the other. The clouds are driven against the lofty mountains that overhang the western and southern coasts, and their condensed vapours descend there in copious showers. But the rains do not reach the opposite side of the island: while the south-west is deluged, the east and north are sometimes exhausted with dryness; and it not unfrequently happens that different sides of the same mountain present at the same moment the opposite extreme of droughts and moisture. The influence of the north-east monsoon is more general. The mountains which face the north-east are lower and more remote from the sea than those on the south-west; the clouds are carried farther inland, and it rains simultaneously on both sides of the island.
The length of the day, owing to the proximity of the island to the equator, does not vary more than an hour at any season. The mean time of the rising of the sun’s centre at Colombo on February 1st is 6h 23m a.m., and of its setting 6h 5m p.m. On August 15th its rising is at 5h 45m a.m., and its setting at 6h 7m p.m. It is mid-day in Colombo when it is morning in England. Colombo is situated in 79° 50′ 45″ E., and the day is further advanced there than at Greenwich by 5h 19m 23s.
Flora.—The characteristics of the low-growing plants of Ceylon approach nearly to those of the coasts of southern India. The Rhizophoreae are numerous along the low muddy shores of salt lakes and stagnant pools; and the acacias are equally abundant. The list comprises Aegiceras fragrans, Epithinia malayana, Thespesia populnea, Feronia elephantum, Salvadora persica (the true mustard tree of Scripture), Eugenia bracteata, Elaeodendron Roxburghii, Cassia Fistula, Cassia Roxburghii, &c. The herbaceous plants of the low country belong mostly to the natural orders Compositae, Leguminosae, Rubiaceae, Scrophulariaceae and Euphorbiaceae.
Leaving the plains of the maritime country and ascending a height of 4000 ft. in the central districts, we find both herbage and trees assume an altered character. The foliage of the latter is larger and deeper coloured, and they attain a height unknown in the hot low country. The herbaceous vegetation is there made up of ferns, Cyrtandreae, Compositae, Scitamineae and Urticaceae. The dense masses of lofty forest at that altitude are interspersed with large open tracts of coarse wiry grass, called by the natives patanas, and of value to them as affording pasturage for their cattle.
Between the altitudes of 4000 and 8000 ft., many plants are to be met with partaking of European forms, yet blended with tropical characteristics. The guelder rose, St John’s wort, the Nepenthes distillatoria or pitcher plant, violets, geraniums, buttercups, sundews, ladies’ mantles and campanulas thrive by the side of Magnoliaceae, Ranunculaceae, Elaeocarpeae, &c. The most beautiful flowering shrub of this truly alpine region is the rhododendron, which in many instances grows to the height of 70 ft. It is met with in great abundance in the moist plains of the elevated land above Nuwara Eliya, flowering abundantly in June and July. There are two distinct varieties, one similar to the Nilgiri plant, having its leaves broad and cordate, and of a rusty colour on the under side; the other, peculiar to Ceylon, is found only in forests at the loftiest elevations; it has narrow rounded leaves, silvery on the under side, and grows to enormous heights, frequently measuring 3 ft. round the stem. At these altitudes English flowers, herbs and vegetables have been cultivated with perfect success, as also wheat, oats and barley. English fruit-trees grow, but rarely bear. Grapes are grown successfully in the north of the island. The vines were introduced by the Dutch, who overcame the difficulty of perpetual summer by exposing the roots, and thus giving the plants an artificial winter.
The timber trees indigenous to Ceylon are met with at every altitude from the sea-beach to the loftiest mountain peak. They vary much in their hardiness and durability, from the common cashew-nut tree, which when felled decays in a month, to the ebony and satinwood, which for many years resist the attacks of insects and climate. Many of the woods are valuable for furniture, and house and shipbuilding, and are capable of standing long exposure to weather. The most beautiful woods adapted to furniture work are the calamander, ebony, flowered satinwood, tamarind, nedun, dell, kadomberiya, kitul, coco-nut, &c.; the sack-yielding tree (Antiaris saccidora), for a long time confounded with the far-famed upas tree of Java (Antiaris toxicaria), grows in the Kurunegala district of the island. The Cocos nucifera, or coco-nut palm, is a native of the island, and may justly be considered the most valuable
