H I N D © S T A N.
’Foresxs- of the botany of - this' ifland is given by the flcilful Thunberg; one of
the m oft peculiar and precious trees ls-that producing the belt’ cinnamon'
* ' about the thicknefe-of ftout papery of a browniih yellow, and a flavour
inclihihg to fweetnefs.
■ Zoology. ■ The elephants of Ceylon are fuppofed: only to yield in beauty to
thofe oft Siam, and chiefly frequent the fouthem part of the ifland..
Buffaloes are alfo found in a -wild ftate, while the tame are ufed in
rural ceconomy. The wild boars are numerous and extremely fierce-};
nor is the tiger unknown, but probably pot equal in, fizefto thbfej of
Bengal. Bears, chacals, and many tribes o f deer and monkies, are alfo ’
, natives of Ceylon. The alligator, frequent in the Hindoo livers, here
fometimes reaches the length of eighteen feet. Among a. vaft variety
» ■ofl.ele^mt birds, the peacock, that riehornament of the Hindoo forefts,
fwarms in this beautiful ifland. For more ample- information the ingenious
labours o f Pennant may be confulted.® >
' Mineralogy, (it Ceylon, opulent in every department, of natural hiftory,.7prefen;t;s
many minerals of uncommon beauty. Not to mention, irtip^ -gold,
plumbago, &c.,‘ Thunberg has given a lift ’ of- the precious ftones,
among which ate the genuine ruby, fapphire, and topaz"; nor are
garnets or even rock cryftals negledted by the Singalefe.. The fiiieft
rock. cryftaTis that of a violet colour, called amethyft, a trivial ft-one,
but when extremely pure not a little valued from the’Angularity of the
tint. The water fapphire is only a harder kind bf the*feoiburlefs cryftal:
the yellow and brown are the Scotilh Cairngorm ftctnes, here cu t: for
buttons, for which purpofe black fchorl is affo' ufed on mourning
apparel. The jacint- is of a yellowifh brown, fomewhat refembiing-the
cinnamon ftone ; but the laft is fometimes of a bright orange. The
tourmalins, or tranfparent fchorls, are alfo numerous in Ceylon; but
fome are falfely fo called, as the red and blue, which are quartz; the
green are chryfolite; while the yellow and white, or what are called
Muturefe diamonds, are pale topazes. Thunberg informs us that the
Hindoo term Tourmalin is thus applied to ftones of different defcrip-
tions; but he does not defcribe the genuine tourmalin of mineralogifts,
^ 9 View ef Hindoftan, yol’. i,
which
C F i l l N. 3 T7
Which In Ceylon is generally dark brown or yellowifh, while thofe o f Miheralq«
other colours ebtpe-! fto^ tBkfeil ’ and Tyrol. * The Peridot ■ of the' ax'
French, which is a' bri{ym,gr®en-ft®he| offtaitsher, a fpft nature, .is found
in• Arabi|;""Perfia,>and India; but# iffe afferted that .’Ceylon produces
the* genuine emerald, which Hs- •effeemedi/.pe.bflflanto.- Per.u, while the-
emerald*'cff the1‘imcientsU^ »probably the .peridot:/' 'That? hard fpar,
called^‘Ccfcundon, 'ufed -by* the' ftingaleferin -poliftiixlg their precious'
"ftones, is ’found. *m--the -C*auts>.n£Efc ICtape‘/Comorin.- Thp rear’s dye,1
a^’kind of • girafol, '-feems peculiar-to ’Ceylon-, .as - thlfnoble!n r «genuine
Opal is -to "Hungary.'
Nor muft the pearl fifhery be forgotten which commonly begins on- the Pearl Fifhery,
N.' W. fhore,'about the middle’of Eebruary-and continues; till .'about .the
middle o f April, when the-f^l "W. mqnSoocw commences.!0 The
village of Condatchey is then crowded with a mixture of thou-
fands of people; of, different colours, .countries,, cafts; ,and occupations^
with numerous tents, and huts; and bazars, icaffhotaS; wftilef;!'
the fea prefents many boats haftenjng to .the banks, or returning
with the expected riches;' The divers are chiefly cprffti|ns,- m
moflems, who defend from five to ten fathoms;land Tefmiri under
water about two minutes, each bringing up about a hundred'ftyfters in
bis net. The fpecies is minutely deferibed in the paper quoted, which'
feems to confute the opinion of M. De St. Fond that pearls are produced
by .the perforation of fome infedt. Thefe precious pearis are on
the contrary always formed like the coats of an ohiOra, abound a grain
offand, or fome other extraneous particle, which Series as, a- nucleus,
the animal covering it with glutinous' matter to prevent’ ' difagteeahle
fridtion ; and even thofe formed in- the fhell feem prodncefiihy ftnkilar
exertion to cover fome rough part, but thefe are darker apd {bluer than
genuine pearls. Theyellow,' or gold-coloured pearl is moft efteemed by
the natives; and fome are of a bright red luftre: .but the dull grey,
or blackifh are of-no value.
There, are no other-ifles of anyconfeqifence near the coafts of.Hin- Other in«,
doftan. Thofe called Lacadives arid Maldives fcarcely merit a particular
defeription, in -a work of this general nature, which,!iqqgi|t only to,1
embrace the moft interefting topics:,and the Andaman and Nicobar, |
10 A f. Ref. v. 394,
1 s § ifles