a canoe or a coffin. There are four kinds of this palm--the
common, the king, the dwarf and the Maldive. The Palmyra and Areca
palms grow luxuriantly and abundantly, the former in the northern, the
latter in the western and central districts. The one is valuable
chiefly for its timber, of which large quantities are exported to the
Indian coasts; the other supplies the betel-nut in common use amongst
natives of the eastern tropics as a masticatory. The export trade in
the latter to India and eastern ports is very considerable. Next in
importance to the coco-nut palm among the indigenous products of
Ceylon is the cinnamon plant, yielding the well-known spice of that
name.

_Fauna_.--Foremost among the animals of Ceylon is the elephant, which,
though far inferior to those of Africa and the Indian continent, is
nevertheless of considerable value when tamed, on account of its
strength, sagacity and docility. They are to be met with in greater or
less numbers throughout most unfrequented parts of the interior.
Occasionally they make inroads in herds upon the cultivated grounds
and plantations, committing great damage. In order to protect these
lands, and at the same time keep up the government stud of draught
elephants, "kraals" or traps on a large scale are erected in the
forests, into which the wild herds are driven; and once secured they
are soon tamed and fit for service. The oxen are of small size, but
hardy, and capable of drawing heavy loads. Buffaloes exist in great
numbers throughout the interior, where they are employed in a
half-tame state for ploughing rice-fields and treading out the corn.
They feed upon any coarse grass, and can therefore be maintained on
the village pasture-lands where oxen would not find support. Of deer,
Ceylon possesses the spotted kind (_Axis maculata_), the muntjac
(_Stylocerus muntjac_), a red deer (the Sambur of India), popularly
called the Ceylon elk (_Musa Aristotelis_), and the small musk
(_Moschus minima_). There are five species of monkeys, one the small
rilawa (_Macacus pileatus_), and four known in Ceylon by the name of
"wandaru" (_Presbytes ursinus_, _P. Thersites_, _P. cephalopterus_,
_P. Priamus_), and the small quadrumanous animal, the loris (_Loris
gracilis_), known as the "Ceylon sloth." Of the Cheiroptera sixteen
species have been identified; amongst them is the rousette or flying
fox (_Pteropus Edward