he uprising
still in progress. But on a closer examination of the structure and
direction of the mountain system of Ceylon, it exhibits no traces of
submersion. It seems erroneous to regard it as a prolongation of the
Indian chains; it lies far to the east of the line formed by the Ghauts
on either side of the peninsula, and any affinity which it exhibits is
rather with the equatorial direction of the intersecting ranges of the
Nilgherries and the Vindhya. In their geological elements there is,
doubtless, a similarity between the southern extremity of India and the
elevated portions of Ceylon; but there are also many important
particulars in which their specific differences are irreconcilable with
the conjecture of previous continuity. In the north of Ceylon there is a
marked preponderance of aqueous strata, which are comparatively rare in
the vicinity of Cape Comorin; and whilst the rocks of the former are
entirely destitute of organic remains[2]; fossils, both terrestrial and
pelagic, have been found in the Eastern Ghauts, and sandstone, in some
instances, overlays the primary rocks which compose them. The rich and
black soil to the south of the Nilgherries presents a strong contrast to
the red and sandy earth of the opposite coast; and both in the flora and
fauna of the island there are exceptional peculiarities which suggest a
distinction between it and the Indian continent.

[Footnote 1: LASSEN, _Indische Alterthumskunde_, vol. i. p. 193.]

[Footnote 2: At Cutchavelly, north of Trincomalie, there exists a bed of
calcareous clay, in which shells and crustaceans are found in a
semi-fossilised state; but they are all of recent species, principally
_Macrophthalmus_ and _Scylla_. The breccia at Jaffna contains recent
shells, as does also the arenaceous strata on the western coast of
Manaar and in the neighbourhood of Galle. The existence of the
fossilised crustaceans in the north of Ceylon was known to the early
Arabian navigators. Abou-zeyd describes them as, "Un animal de mer qui
resemble a l'ecrevisse; quand cet animal sort de la mer, _il se
convertit en pierre_." See REINAUD, _Voyages faits par les Arabes_, vol.
i. p. 21. The Arabs then; and the Chinese at the present day, use these
petrifactions when powdered as a specific for diseases of the eye.]

_Mountain System_.--At whatever period the mountains of Ceylon may have
been raised, the centre of maximum energy must have been in the vicinity
of Adam's Peak, the g