Malwatte to the Peak was set aside, and in the letter from the Board of Commissioners dated 16th Dec. of that year, it was conveyed that the Governor had decided, that the appointment of High Priest of the Peak should be conferred on a Priest of Saffragam, it being made a condition of that appointment that the greater part of the revenue arising from the offerings should be applied to the repair and upkeep of Rest-houses, &c. On the 15th February 1826, Mr. Turnour communicated to Government the selection by him, according to instructions, of Galle Medankara Unnanse, to succeed the late High Priest of Malwatte as Priest of the Peak, and by the letter of the Board of the 14th April 1826, was conveyed, that as a special favour to the then Maha Naika Unnanse of Malwatte, the Government had conferred on him one-fourth of the offerings of the Peak, which reverted to the High Priest of the Peak on the death of the said Maha Naika Unnanse. On the demise of Galle Naika Unnanse, 1836, his successor, Samangala Unnanse, who died on the 21st May 1818, was elected by the priests of this district before the then Assistant Agent, Mr. Wells, under instructions of Government (see letter No. 448 of 13th May, 1836,) which prescribed the same course as had been adopted by Mr. Turnour." Paracumbere was the next High Priest; then Galagama Attadassi Terunansi, who was deposed on 26th May, 1866. Hikkaduwe Sumangale Terunansi of the Viháre called Tilakarama in Hikkaduwe, was then elected; -"a priest in every respect eligible for this high and important office, and one whose reputation for piety and scholarship stands supereminent among the priesthood of the Malwatte establishment of the Island of Ceylon."- Act of the Priests, on the 10th June, 1866. K. DESCRIPTION OF THE ATTANAGALU FOREST, BY JAMES "WHEN, some years ago, I visited this part of the country,* my eyes rested on a scene which I could not soon or easily forget. Its greatest attraction was the stately forest. Whilst I stood amazed at the prodigious height to which the trees had grown, straight from the ground, the eye lingered with delight on the 'pillared shades,' thick with their dense green foliage, and laden 'with their pendent fruits and flowers.' The Figs and the Palms which grew up together reminded me of the Cocoanut and the Bread fruit which rose, as it were, in love's embrace, in the southwest coast of Ceylon. The Talipot, the Ná, the Sapan, the Hedawaka, the Ketakála, the Del, the Milila, the Godapora, (not to mention other timber trees), were all here seen side-by-side with the Katu-imbul, the Goraka, the Veralu, the Kaju, the Erabadu, etc., etc. There were also climbing plants in endless variety. The Potá, the Kirindi, the Kiritilla, and the Kiri-anguna, entwined themselves round the trunks as they clambered up in search of light. The ferns and the orchids, which thrived luxuriously in the hollows of old trees, waving their brilliant foliage, * Attanagalu, on the road to the Hewagam Kóralé. seemed as if they were the cultivation of some nymph of the forest. Nothing could exceed the beauty of the flowing tresses of the Hedayá, of which two species were met within the cold and mossy clefts of trees that never saw the light of the sun. Under the shade grew the Vana Rája. Revelling in the rich and luxurious vegetable mould, which lay several feet thick, this dwarf 'King of the Forest' spread out its leaves, 'the most exquisitely formed in the vegetable kingdom, and whose colour resembles dark velvet approaching to black, and reticulated over all the surface with veins of ruddy gold.' It is difficult to realize the beauty of the distant landscape along the streams and marshes of the forest. The graceful Bambu was surrounded by the magnificent Asoka. The pale azure of the Sal, which deeply contrasted with the burnished green of the delicately tinted foliage of the Siambalá on the hillocks, and both with the deep emerald brushwood below,-waved over the Gloriosa Superba (Niagalá), whose matchless flowers festooned the adjacent heaps of verdure; whilst the Muruta overshadowed the Bándurá, that grew luxuriantly beneath the pink-clad branches of the former. Nothing, again, could surpass either the splendour of the flowers, or the beauty of the leaves. Some of the latter by themselves exhibited the hues of the former. The scarlet shoots of the Ná, for instance, vied in beauty with the gorgeous flowers of the Katu-imbul, the pink clusters of the Muruta with the ripe leaves of the Kottambá, the pale yellow Champac with the tawny Veralu, and the snow-white blossoms of the Idda with the tender buds and cream-coloured leaves of the Mussenda."-ATTANAGALUVANSA, pages 91-93. L. VEGETATION ABOUT ADAM'S PEAK. By G. H. K. TпHWAITES, Esq., F. R. S., Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Peradeniya. THE forest immediately about the Peak contains a number of interesting trees of various Natural Orders, comprising MAGNOLIACEÆ, represented by Michelia Nilagirica (Wal Sappoo of the Sinhalese.) ANONACEE, represented by species of Sageræa, Goniothalamus, Uvaria, Unona, Miliusa, &c. MYRISTICACEE, by Myristica Horsfieldii, and M. laurifolia. SAMYDACEE, by two or three species of Casearia, and the fragrant flowered Osmelia. PANGIACEE, by Hydnocarpus and Trichadenia. STERCULIACEÆ, by the Durian-like Cullenia excelsa, and Sterculia guttata. BYTTNERIACEAE, by Pterospermum suberifolium, and Julostylis angustifolia. TILIACEE, by species of Elæocarpus (Weraloo of the Sinhalese.) DIPTEROCARPEE, by species of Dipterocarpus, Doona, Shorea, Hopea, Vateria, Isauxis, and Stemonoporus. TERNSTRŒEMIACEAE (the Tea tribe) by Gordonia, Eurya, Ternstroemia, and Adinandra. AURANTIACEE, by Glycosmis and Atalantia. GUTTIFERE, by Garcinia Morella (the true Gamboge tree', G. echinocarpa, G. terpnophylla, Xanthochymus ovalifolius, and species of Calophyllum (Keena of the Sinhalese.) CELASTRACE.E, by Kurrimia, Kokoona, and Microtropis. SAPINDACEE, by Schmidelia, Sapindus, and Nephelium. MELIACEAE, by Milnea, Amoora and Walsura. TEREBINTHACEAE, by several species of Semecarpus, by Mangifera (wild mango) and Nothopegia. BURSERACEÆ, by Canarium, Scutinanthe, and Pteridophyllum. HOMALINEE, by Homalium Ceylanicum. LEGUMINOSE, by Erythrina, Pongamia, Pterocarpus, and Dalbergia. COMBRETACEA, by Terminalia Belerica and T. parviflora. MYRTACEA, by Eugenia, Jambosa, and Syzygium of many species. LYTHRARIACE.E, by Axinandra and Lagerstroemia. RUBIACEE (Coffee tribe) by species of Nauclea, Canthium, Ixora, Pavetta, Discospermum, Griffithia, and Wendlandia. MYRSINACEA, by Myrsine. SAPOTACEE, by species of Isonandra (the Gutta percha plant belongs to this genus) Dasyaulus and Dichopsis. EBENACEE (Ebony tribe), by several species of Diospyros, Macreightia, and Maba. |