passion for jewels is universal, are known to give such extravagant prices that the best are always sent to them from Ceylon. From the Custom House returns it is impossible to form any calculation as to the value of the precious stones exported from the island. A portion only appears, even of those sent to England, the remainder being carried away by private parties. Of the total number found, one-fourth is probably purchased by the natives themselves, more than one-half is sent to the Continent of India, and the remainder represents the export to Europe. Computed in this way, the quantity of precious stones found in the island may be estimated at 10,000l. per annum. RIVERS. From the mountainous configuration of the country and the abundance of the rains, the rivers are large and numerous in the south of the island- ten of considerable magnitude flowing into the sea on the west coast, between Point-de-Galle and Manaar, and a still greater number, though inferior in volume, on the east. In the low country, where the heat is intense and evaporation proportionate, these derive little of their supply from springs; and the passing showers which fall do scarcely more than replace the moisture drawn by the sun from the parched and thirsty soil. Hence in the plains there are comparatively few rivulets or running streams; the rivers there flow in almost solitary lines to the sea; and the beds of their minor affluents serve only to conduct to them the torrents which descend at the change of each monsoon, their channels at other times being exhausted and dry. But in their course through the hills, and the broken ground at their base, they are supplied by numerous feeders, which convey to them the frequent showers that fall in these high altitudes. Hence their tracks are through some of the noblest scenery in the world; rushing through ravines and glens, and falling over precipitous rocks in the depths of wooded valleys, they exhibit a succession of rapids, cataracts, and torrents, unsurpassed in magnificence and beauty. On reaching the plains, the boldness of their march and the graceful outline of their sweep are indicative of the little obstruction opposed by the sandy and porous soil through which they flow. Throughout their entire course dense forests shade their banks, and, as they approach the sea, tamarisks and over-arching mangroves mark where their waters mingle with the tide. Of all the Ceylon rivers, the most important by far is the Mahawelli-ganga- the Ganges of Ptolemywhich, rising in the south near Adam's Peak, traverses more than one-third of the mountain zone1, drains upwards of four thousand square miles, and flows into the sea by a number of branches, near the noble harbour of Trincomalie. The following table gives a comparative view of the magnitude of the rivers that rise in the hills, and of the extent of the low country traversed by each of them : In addition to these, there are a number of large rivers which belong entirely to the plains in the northern and south-eastern portions of the island, the principal 1 See ante, p. 12, for a definition of what constitutes the "mountain zone" of Ceylon. of which are the Arive and the Moderegam, which flow into the Gulf of Manaar; the Kala-oya and the Kandalady, which empty themselves into the Bay of Calpentyn; the Maniek or Kattragam, and the Koombookgam, opposite to the Little Bass rocks; and the Naveloor, the Chadawak and Arookgam, south of Batticaloa. The extent of country drained by these latter streams is little short of thirteen thousand square miles. Very few of the rivers of Ceylon are navigable, and these only by canoes and flat-bottomed paddy boats, which ascend some of the largest for short distances, till impeded by the rapids, occasioned by rocks in the lowest range of the hills. In this way the Niwalle at Matura can be ascended for about fifteen miles, as far as Wellehara; the Kalu-ganga can be traversed from Caltura to Ratnapoora; the Bentotte river for sixteen miles to Pittagalla; and the Kalany from Colombo to the foot of the mountains near Ambogammoa. The Mahawelli-ganga is navigable from Trincomalie to within a short distance of Kandy1; and many of the lesser streams, the Kirinde and Wellawey in the south, and the Kaymel, the Dedroo-oya, and the Aripo river on the west of the island, are used for short distances by boats. All these streams are liable, during the fury of the monsoons, to be surcharged with rain till they overflow their banks, and spread in wide inundations over the level country. On the subsidence of these waters, the intense heat of the sun acting on the surface they leave deserted, produces a noxious and fatal malaria. Hence the rivers of Ceylon present the curious anomaly, that whilst the tanks and reservoirs of the interior diffuse a healthful coolness around, the running water of the rivers is prolific of fevers; and in some seasons so deadly is the pestilence that the Malabar coolies, as well For an account of the capabilities of the Mahawelli-ganga, as regards navigation, see BROOKE'S Re port, Roy. Geog. Journ. vol. iii. p. 223, and post, Vol. II. p. 423. as the native peasantry, betake themselves to precipitate flight.1 None of the larger rivers have been bridged, except those which intersect the great high roads from Pointde-Galle to Colombo, and thence to Kandy. Near the sea this has been effected by timber platforms, sustained by piles sufficiently strong to withstand the force of the floods at the change of each monsoon. A bridge of boats connects each side of the Kalany, and on reaching the Mahawelli-ganga at Peradenia, one of the most picturesque structures on the island is a noble bridge of a single arch, 205 feet in span, chiefly constructed of satin-wood, and thrown across the river by General Fraser in 1832. On reaching the margin of the sea, an appearance is presented by the outline of the coast, near the embouchures of the principal rivers, which is very remarkable. It is common to both sides of the island, though it has attained its greatest development on the east. In order to comprehend its formation, it is necessary to observe that Ceylon lies in the course of the ocean currents in the Bay of Bengal, which run north or south according to the prevalence of the monsoon, and with greater or less velocity in proportion to its force at particular periods. In the beginning and dur ing the strength of the northeast monsoon the current sets strongly along the coast of Coromandel to the southward, a portion of it frequently en It has been remarked along the Mahawelli-ganga, a few miles from Kandy, that during the deadly season, after the subsidence of the rains, the jungle fever generally attacks one face of the hills through which it MALABAR COROMANDEL CEYLON CURRENT IN THE N, F. MONS00N. winds, leaving the opposite side entirely exempted, as if the poisonous vapour, being carried by the current of air, affected only those aspects against which it directly impinged. tering Palks Bay to the north of Ceylon; but the main stream keeping invariably to the east of the island, runs with a velocity of from one and a half to two miles an hour, and after passing the Great Bass, it keeps its course seaward. At other times, after the monsoon MALABAR COROMANDEL CEYLON CURRENT IN THE S. W. MONSOON. has spent its violence, the current is weak, and follows the line of the land to the westward as far as Point-deGalle, or even to Colombo. In the south-west monsoon the current changes its direction; and, although it flows steadily to the northward, its action is very irregular and unequal till it reaches the Coromandel coast, after passing Ceylon. This is accounted for by the obstruction opposed by the headlands of Ceylon, which so intercept the stream that the current, which might otherwise set into the Gulf of Manaar, takes a south-easterly direction by Galle and Donedra Head.1 There being no lakes in Ceylon2, in the still waters of which the rivers might clear themselves of the earthy matter swept along in their rapid course from the hills, they arrive at the beach laden with sand and alluvium, and at their junction with the ocean being met transversely by the gulf-streams, the sand and soil with which they are laden, instead of being carried out to sea, are heaped up in bars along the shores, and these, being augmented by similar deposits held in 1 For an account of the currents of Ceylon, see HORSBURGH'S Directions for Sailing to and from the East Indies, &c., vol. i. p. 516, 536, 580; KEITH JOHNSTONE'S Physical Atlas, plate xiii. p. 50. 2 Pliny alludes to a lake in Ceylon of vast dimensions, but it is clear that his informants must have spoken purpose of irrigation. Some of the of one of the huge tanks for the Mappe-mondes of the Middle Ages place a lake in the middle of the island, with a city inhabited by reproduced the error of earlier geoastrologers; but they have merely graphers. (SANTAREM, Cosmog. tom. iii. p. 336.) |