the parent root or wood. They are
firm and close in their texture, nearly devoid of fibrous structure, and
take a moderate polish when cut with a sharp instrument; but for lining
insect boxes and making setting-boards they have no equal in the world.
The finest pin passes in with delightful ease and smoothness, and is
held firmly and tightly so that there is no risk of the insects becoming
disengaged. With a fine saw I form them into little boards and then
smooth them with a sharp case knife, but the London veneering-mills
would turn them out fit for immediate use, without any necessity for
more than a touch of fine glass-paper. Some of my pigmy boards are two
feet long by three and a half inches wide, which is more than sufficient
for our purpose, and to me they have proved a vast acquisition. The
natives call them 'Kirilimow,' the latter syllable signifying
root"--TEMPLETON, _Trans. Ent. Soc._ vol. iii. p. 302.]

A little further inland, the sandy plains are covered by a thorny
jungle, the plants of which are the same as those of the Carnatic, the
climate being alike; and wherever man has encroached on the solitude,
groves of coco-nut palms mark the vicinity of his habitations.

Remote from the sea, the level country of the north has a flora almost
identical with that of Coromandel; but the arid nature of the Ceylon
soil, and its drier atmosphere, is attested by the greater proportion of
euphorbias and fleshy shrubs, as well as by the wiry and stunted nature
of the trees, their smaller leaves and thorny stems and branches.[1]

[Footnote 1: Dr. Gardner.]

Conspicuous amongst them are acacias of many kinds; _Cassia fistula_ the
wood apple (_Feronia elephantum_), and the mustard tree of Scripture
(_Salvadora Persica_), which extends from Ceylon to the Holy Land. The
margosa (_Azadirachta Indica_), the satin wood, the Ceylon oak, and the
tamarind and ebony, are examples of the larger trees; and in the extreme
north and west the Palmyra palm takes the place of the coco-nut, and not
only lines the shore, but fills the landscape on every side with its
shady and prolific groves.

Proceeding southward on the western coast, the acacias disappear, and
the greater profusion of vegetation, the taller growth of the timber,
and the darker tinge of the foliage, all attest the influence of the
increased moisture both from the rivers and the rains. The brilliant
_Ixoras, Erythrinas, Buteas, Jonesias, Hibiscus_, and a variety of
fl