abound in the island, and are used for agricultural purposes. Large quantities of excellent iron ore is found in the western, southern, and central provinces, and tin, copper, and salt, are met with.

6. Though cinnamon, sugar, coffee, and cocoa-nuts, are the all-important sources of Singhalese wealth, yet the famous pearl-fisheries of the island are most associated in the popular mind with its fame. The chief banks are near Arippo, off the northern part of the west coast, at a distance of six to twelve miles from the shore. beds are very old, so old that they are mentioned in a chronicle dated 306 B.C. Though of great extent, the yield is very variable, ranging from £80,000 in value to less than a tenth of that sum.

The

7. The banks are the monopolies of the Government, who sell the privilege of fishing them by public auction yearly at Colombo. The fishery commences at a period varying from March to May, but never later than May. The little villages of Arippo and Condatchy are the head-quarters of the divers, the speculators, and the motley crowd who hie from far and near to profit by the money which, for a few weeks, is scattered so freely by those engaged in the business. The country about Arippo is naturally very dreary. Water is scarce away from the river which flows into the sea at this place, and, with the exception of a few palms, a loose thorny jungle is the only vegetation scattered behind the long sandy beach.

8. Here from time immemorial have congregated for one month, during which the fishery lasts, a motley multitude from all parts of Asia. Sheds-built of boards, palm leaves, cotton cloth, and straw-rise as if by magic on the barren sand; and the region so desolate a few days previously is thronged by a crowd of snake-charmers, jugglers, dancing-girls, fakirs, and the vagabondage of half of Southern Asia, the variety of whose costume, features, tongues, and roguery, afford endless subjects for the student of mankind, and the artist's pencil. On the banks swarm canoes and dhoueys of all sizes, most of which come from the opposite shores of India with provisions and other goods to supply the wants of the multi

tude who inhabit the impromptu bazaar-like town. Finally, the strong detachment of Malay police and military sent from Colombo are absolutely necessary to keep order in such a gathering.

9. The divers are principally Malabars from Cape Comorin, but a few come from the Persian Gulf. They all wear amulets, as a supposed protection from sharks. The oysters, when brought ashore, are sold by the thousand to small speculators, who, in their turn, either take the risk themselves, or dispose of them in smaller quantities to still humbler adventurers. Indeed, few of those who camp on the Arippo beach during the fishing season do not venture from a few pence to several pounds in the prevailing lottery. The small dealers usually open them on the spot, but most frequently the oysters are placed in hollow enclosures, covered with sheds and fenced round and guarded to prevent pilfering. There they are allowed to remain until they rot, when the pearls, if any, are sought for. It is needless to say that the putrefaction of such an immense quantity of shell-fish fills the air with an abominable odour for miles around, and nurtures vast swarms of flies, which blacken the air and cover every article of food, furniture, and clothing. At first this horrible smell produces nausea, but after a time the stomach gets accustomed to it. It does not, however, seem to be injurious to health, for mortality is not higher at Arippo than among the crowded population of the native towns.

10. Ceylon is a British colony under a Governor, who is independent of the Viceroy of India. The island contains a population of about 2,500,000, of whom less than 5,000 are British. Colombo is the seat of government, and by far the largest town. Kandy was the old capital. Galle, or Point de Galle, is an important port on the south coast. The trade is chiefly with Great Britain and India. Cocoa-nut oil, coir, coffee, and cinnamon, are the chief exports, and cotton and hardware goods are the chief imports.

LESSON XXIV.

FARTHER INDIA.

1. Southern Asia boasts of three great peninsulasArabia on the west, and India in the centre, whilst the eastern peninsula, sometimes called "Farther India," comprises Burma, Siam, Cochin-China, and the neighbouring petty chieftainships, principalities and kingdoms, including Cambodia and Annam. The whole occupies a space ten times larger than our island of Great Britain.

2. Long ranges of mountains run southwards through the peninsula from the table-land of Tibet, and the broad plains between are watered by three great rivers-the Irawaddy, Menam, and Me-kong. The Irawaddy-the "Father of Waters"-is the great drainer of Burma. It forms a delta, sometimes partially overflowed, comprising 10,000 square miles of forest, agriculture, and pasture land, and which is traversed by an inextricable network of the river's branches. The valleys of the Menam and Me-kong are among the most fertile in the world. Many thousands of square miles are inundated every year by the overflow from these rivers, and the rich deposit left behind supplies a soil capable of yielding the finest crops with the slightest cultivation.

3. The kingdom of Burma, including its tributary states, is about three times the area of England and Wales. Burma proper is less than one-fourth of the whole, and has a scattered population of about 1,200,000. The country is not so fertile as the low-lying plains of the lower courses of the rivers, but grains, tropical fruits, indigo, tobacco, cotton, the perfumed eagle-wood, and various palms, besides the valuable teak-tree, are grown in abundance. Minerals are not wanting. Iron has been worked from the earliest times, and coal has been discovered in various places. Tin, gold, silver, and copper, are found, besides petroleum and precious stones. Roaming through the forests are elephants and the

* For British Burma see page 84.