of mountains, is undulating in a
very slight degree; the dry and parching north-east wind desiccates the
soil in its passage, and the sandy plains are covered with a low and
scanty vegetation, chiefly fed by the night dews and whatever moisture
is brought by the on-shore wind. The total rain of the year does not
exceed thirty inches; and the inhabitants live in frequent apprehension
of droughts and famines. These conditions attain their utmost
manifestation at the extreme north and in the Jaffna peninsula: there
the temperature is the highest[1] in the island, and, owing to the
humidity of the situation and the total absence of hills, it is but
little affected by the changes of the monsoons; and the thermometer
keeps a regulated pace with the progress of the sun to and from the
solstices. The soil, except in particular spots, is porous and sandy,
formed from the detritus of the coral rocks which it overlays. It is
subject to droughts sometimes of a whole year's continuance; and rain,
when it falls, is so speedily absorbed, that it renders but slight
service to cultivation, which is entirely carried on by means of tanks
and artificial irrigation, in the practice of which the Tamil population
of this district exhibits singular perseverance and ingenuity.[2] In the
dry season, when scarcely any verdure is discernible above ground, the
sheep and goats feed on their knees--scraping away the sand, in order to
reach the wiry and succulent roots of the grasses. From the constancy of
this practice horny callosities are produced, by which these hardy
creatures may be distinguished.

[Footnote 1: The mean lowest temperature at Jaffna is 70 deg, the mean
highest 90 deg; but in 1845-6 the thermometer rose to 90 deg and
100 deg.]

[Footnote 2: For an account of the Jaffna wells, and the theory of their
supply with fresh water, see ch. i. p. 21.]

Water-spouts are frequent on the coast of Ceylon, owing to the different
temperature of the currents of air passing across the heated earth and
the cooler sea, but instances are very rare of their bursting over land,
or of accidents in consequence.[1]

[Footnote 1: CAMOENS, who had opportunities of observing the phenomena
of these seas during his service on board the fleet of Cabral, off the
coast of Malabar and Ceylon, has introduced into the _Lusiad_ the
episode of a water-spout in the Indian Ocean; but, under the belief that
the water which descends had been previously drawn up by suc