Geology and Mineralogy.— Ceylon is mostly formed of ancient stratified rocks, but owing to the obliteration of fossil remains it is doubtful whether they have been deposited on the beds of seas or lakes. The mountains are composed of Primary and metamorphic rocks, the prevailing rock on the island being gneiss, though laterite (or ((cabook") and a sort of dolomite also occur in considerable quantities. In the Nuwara-Eliya district and elsewhere there are large alluvial tracts. Basalt is found near Galle and Trincomalee, and at Pettigalla kanda an ancient lava occurs. The soil is mostly formed from the disintegration of gneiss. The western coast of the island is believed to be rising. Plumbago is found in sufficient quantities to make it of commercial importance, and among the metals occurring in the island are iron in fair quantity, manganese, gold, platinum, molybdenum, nickel, cobalt, cop per and tin. No coal has been found, but nitre and salt occur (the latter is also a somewhat important article of manufacture). Gems of many kinds are abundant, particularly near Rat napura. They are found either embedded in the rock or washed down in the alluvium of river beds, and include zircons, amethysts, cat's-eyes, topazes, moonstones, garnets, spinel, sapphires, rubies, cinnamon stones, etc. There are hot springs at Bintenna, Trincomalee and Puttalam.
Roads and Transportation.— Ceylon is now well provided with roads. A highway has been made from Colombo to Nuwara-Eliya, 6,000 feet above the level of the sea. A continuous line, 769 miles in length, makes the entire cir cuit of the coast, and every town of importance is connected by roads with the two chief cities. The roads in general are good, many of them being macadamized, and in the neighborhood of the chief towns are adapted • for carriages. During the monsoons, however, the roads in many parts are impassable from inundations. The building and maintenance of roads, bridges, streets and canals forms one of the chief items of expenditure of the government. Railroad extension is also a government affair, and there are now about 604 miles in all, the main line being that between Colombo and Kandy (75 miles). In the early part of the 19th century there was not a single road in the country, merely a few pathways, the greater part of the island being then covered with impenetrable forests.
Climate.—Where the jungle has been cleared away and the land drained and cultivated, the country is healthy; where low, wooded tracts and flat, marshy lands abound, covered with a rank, luxuriant vegetation, the climate is emi nently insalubrious, showing, what is now pretty well understood, that mere heat has little to do with the unhealthfulness of tropical climates.
The heat is not so great as on the neighboring coast of India, the sea-breezes moderating the temperature. At Colombo, on the western side of the island, near the 7th parallel of north latitude, the mean daily variation of the tem perature does not exceed and the annual range is from 76° to 86° F. At Nuwara-Eliya (6,000 feet high) the annual range is from 32° to 80°. The eastern part of the island, being exposed to the northeastern monsoon, has a hot and dry climate, resembling that of the coast of Coromandel; while the western division, being open to the southwestern monsoon, has a humid climate like that of the Malabar coast. The quantity of rain that falls annually in Ceylon is estimated at three times the quantity that falls in England, the rains being less fre quent, but much heavier. The interruption which the course of the monsoons meets with from the mountain ranges of the island causes deluges of rain to fall on one side, while the other is parched with drought. At Kandy, in the interior, the average annual fall of rain is 85.3 inches; at Colombo, on the seacoast, 75 to 80 inches. The prevalent diseases are those of the liver and intestines, often accompanied by fever. Elephantiasis and other cutaneous complaints are common. The very fatal disease called beriberi (Hydrops asthmaticus) occasionally Occurs.
Animals.— Most of the animals found on the opposite continent are native to this island, excepting the royal tiger, which does not exist here. Elephants are numerous, especially in the northern and eastern provinces, where they sometimes do great injury to the growing crops. The elephants of Ceylon are esteemed for their superior strength and docility. The eagerness with which they are hunted has greatly diminished their numbers. Since 1869 licenses for the capture and exportation of elephants must be obtained from the govern ment. Bears, buffaloes, leopards, jackals, mon keys and wild hogs are numerous. There are several species of deer, of which the elk and fallow deer (properly the great red Sambar and spotted axis) are most abundant. Porcu pine, bandicoots, squirrels (flying and other), bats, mungooses, are to be found, as are also the pangolin or scaly ant-eater and the loris or Ceylon sloth. Flying foxes and rats are numerous. Pheasants, snipes, partridges, pigeons, peacocks and a great variety of birds, of splendid plumage, are plentiful. Crocodiles, serpents and reptiles of all sorts abound. Of the snake tribe, consisting of about 26 different species, six only are venomous. Among the insects are the leaf and stick insects, the ant lion, the white ant, etc.