Chapter 1

MAMMALIA.

Neglect of zoology in Ceylon

Labours of Dr. Davy

Followed by Dr. Templeton and others

Dr. Kelaart and Mr. E.L. Layard

Monkeys The Rilawa, _Macacus pileatus_ Wanderoos Knox's account of them Error regarding the _Silenus Veter (note)_ Presbytes Cephalopterus Fond of eating flowers A white monkey Method of the flight of monkeys P. Ursinus in the Hills P. Thersites in the Wanny P. Priamus, Jaffna and Trincomalie No dead monkey ever found

Loris

Bats Flying Fox, _Pteropus Edwardsii_ Their numbers at Peradenia Singularity of their attitudes Food and mode of eating Horse-shoe bat, _Rhinolophus_ Faculty of smell in bat A tiny bat, _Scotophilus foromandelicus_ Extraordinary parasite of the bat, the _Nycteribia_

_Carnivora_.--Bears Their ferocity

Singhalese belief in the efficacy of charms (_note_)

Leopards Erroneously confounded with the Indian _cheetah_ Curious belief Anecdotes of leopards Their attraction by the smallpox Native superstition Encounter with a leopard Monkeys killed by leopards Alleged peculiarity of the claws

Palm-cat

Civet

Dogs Cruel mode of destroying dogs Their republican instincts

Jackal Cunning, anecdotes of The horn of the jackal

Mungoos Its fights with serpents Theory of its antidote

Squirrels Flying squirrel

Tree-rat Story of a rat and a snake

Coffee-rat

Bandicoot

Porcupine

Pengolin Its habits and gentleness Its skeleton

_Ruminantia_.--The Gaur Oxen Humped cattle Encounter of a cow and a leopard Draft oxen Their treatment A _Tavalam_ Attempt to introduce the camel (note) Buffaloes Sporting buffaloes Peculiar structure of the foot

Deer

Meminna

Elk

Wild-boar

Elephants Recent discovery of a new species Geological speculations as to the island of Ceylon Ancient tradition Opinion of Professor Ansted Peculiarities in Ceylon mammalia The same in Ceylon birds and insects Temminck's discovery of a new species of elephant in Sumatra Points of distinction between it and the elephant of India Professor Schlegel's description

_Cetacea_ Whales The Dugong Origin of the fable of the mermaid Credulity of the Portuguese Belief of the Dutch

Testimony of Valentyn

List of Ceylon mammalia

CHAP. II

THE ELEPHANT

* * * * *

_Its Structure_.

Vast numbers in Ceylon

Derivation of the word "elephant" (note)

Antiquity of the trade in elephants

Numbers now diminishing

Mischief done by them to crops

Ivory scarce in Ceylon

Conjectures as to the absence of tusks

Elephant a harmless animal

Alleged antipathies to other animals

Fights with each other

The foot its chief weapon

Use of the tusks in a wild state doubtful

Anecdote of sagacity in an elephant at Kandy

Difference between African and Indian species

Native ideas of perfection in an elephant

Blotches on the skin

White elephants not unknown in Ceylon

CHAP. III.

THE ELEPHANT

* * * * *

_Its Habits_.

Water, but not heat, essential to elephants

Sight limited

Smell acute

Caution

Hearing, good

Cries of the elephant

Trumpeting

Booming noise

Height, exaggerated

Facility of stealthy motion

Ancient delusion as to the joints of the leg

Its exposure by Sir Thos. Browne

Its perpetuation by poets and others

Position of the elephant in sleep

An elephant killed on its feet

Mode of lying down

Its gait a shuffle

Power of climbing mountains

Facilitated by the joint of the knee

Mode of descending declivities

A "herd" is a family

Attachment to their young

Suckled indifferently by the females

A "rogue" elephant

Their cunning and vice

Injuries done by them

The leader of a herd a tusker

Bathing and nocturnal gambols, description of a scene by Major Skinner

Method of swimming

Internal anatomy imperfectly known

Faculty of storing water

Peculiarity of the stomach

The food of the elephant

Sagacity in search of it

Unexplained dread of fences

Its spirit of inquisitiveness

Anecdotes illustrative of its curiosity

Estimate of sagacity

Singular conduct of a herd during thunder

An elephant feigning death

_Appendix_.--Narratives of natives, as to encounters with rogue elephants

CHAP. IV.

THE ELEPHANT

* * * * *

_Elephant Shooting_.

Vast numbers shot in Ceylon

Revolting details of elephant killing in Africa

Fatal spots at which to aim

Structure of the bones of the head

Wounds which are certain to kill

Attitudes when surprised

Peculiar movements when reposing

Habits when attacked

Sagacity of native trackers

Courage and agility of the elephants in escape

Worthlessness of the carcass

Singular recovery from a wound

CHAP. V.

THE ELEPHANT.

* * * * *

_An Elephant Corral_.

Early method of catching elephants

Capture in pit-falls

By means of decoys

Panickeas--their courage and address

Their sagacity in following the elephant

Mode of capture by the noose

Mode of taming

Method of leading the elephants to the coast

Process of embarking them at Manaar

Method of capturing a whole herd

The "keddah" in Bengal described

Process of enclosing a herd

Process of capture in Ceylon

An elephant corral and its construction

An elephant hunt in Ceylon, 1847

The town and district of Kornegalle

The rock of Ætagalla

Forced labour of the corral in former times

Now given voluntarily

Form of the enclosure

Method of securing a wild herd

Scene when driving them into the corral

A failure

An elephant drove by night

Singular scene in the corral

Excitement of the tame elephants

CHAP. VI.

THE ELEPHANT.

* * * * *

_The Captives_.

A night scene

Morning in the corral

Preparations for securing the captives

The "cooroowe," or noosers

The tame decoys

First captive tied up

Singular conduct of the wild elephants

Furious attempts of the herd to escape

Courageous conduct of the natives

Variety of disposition exhibited by the herd

Extraordinary contortions of the captives

Water withdrawn from the stomach

Instinct of the decoys

Conduct of the noosers

The young ones and their actions

Noosing a "rogue." and his death

Instinct of flies in search of carrion (_note_)

Strange scene

A second herd captured

Their treatment of a solitary elephant

A magnificent female elephant

Her extraordinary attitudes

Wonderful contortions

Taking the captives out of the corral

Their subsequent treatment and training

Grandeur of the scene

Story of young pet elephant

CHAP. VII.

THE ELEPHANT.

* * * * *

_Conduct in Captivity_.

Alleged superiority of the Indian to the African elephant--not true

Ditto of Ceylon elephant to Indian

Process of training in Ceylon

Allowed to bathe

Difference of disposition

Sudden death of "broken heart"

First employment treading clay

Drawing a waggon

Dragging timber

Sagacity in labour

Mode of raising stones

Strength in throwing down trees exaggerated

Piling timber

Not uniform in habits of work

Lazy if not watched

Obedience to keeper from affection, not fear

Change of keeper--story of child

Ear for sounds and music

_Hurra! (note)_

Endurance of pain

Docility

Working elephants, delicate

Deaths in government stud

Diseases

Subject to tooth-ache

Question of the value of labour of an elephant

Food in captivity, and cost

Breed in captivity

Age

Theory of M. Fleurens

No dead elephants found

Sindbad's story

Passage from Ælian

CHAP. VIII.

BIRDS.

Their numbers

Songsters

Hornbills, the "bird with two heads"

Pea fowl

Sea birds, their number

I. _Accipitres_.--Eagles Falcons and hawks Owls--the devil bird

II. _Passeres_.--Swallows Kingfishers--sunbirds The cotton-thief Bul-bul--tailor bird--and weaver The mountain jay Crows, anecdotes of

III. _Scansores_.--Parroquets

IV. _Columbidæ_.--Pigeons

V. _Gallinæ_.--Jungle-fowl

VI. _Grallæ_.--Ibis, stork, &c.

VII. _Anseres_.--Flamingoes Pelicans Strange scene Game--Partridges, &c.

List of Ceylon birds

List of birds peculiar to Ceylon

CHAP. IX.

REPTILES.

_Lizards_.--Iguana Kabara-goya, barbarous custom in preparing the kabara-tel poison Blood-suckers The green calotes The lyre-headed lizard Chameleon Ceratophora Geckoes,--their power of reproducing limbs

Crocodiles Their sensitiveness to tickling Anecdotes of crocodiles Their power of burying themselves in the mud

_Tortoises_.--Curious parasite Terrapins Edible turtle Cruel mode of cutting it up alive Huge Indian tortoises (_note_) Hawk's-bill turtle, barbarous mode of stripping it of the tortoise-shell

_Serpents_.--Venomous species rare Tic polonga and carawala Cobra de capello Tame snakes (_note_) Anecdotes of the cobra de capello Legends concerning it Instance of land snakes found at sea Singular tradition regarding the robra de capello Uropeltidæ.--New species discovered in Ceylon Buddhist veneration for the cobra de capello The Python Tree snakes Water snakes Sea snakes Snake stones Analysis of one Cæcilia Frogs Tree frogs

List of Ceylon reptiles

CHAP. X.

FISHES.

Ichthyology of Ceylon, little known

Fish for table, seir fish

Sardines, poisonous?

Sharks

Saw-fish

Fish of brilliant colours

The ray

The sword-fish

Curious fish described by Ælian

_Salarias alticus_

Beautifully coloured fishes

Fresh-water fish, little known,--not much eaten

Fresh-water fish in Colombo Lake

Perches

Eels

Immense profusion of fish in the rivers and lakes

Their re-appearance after rain

Mode of fishing in the ponds

Showers of fish

Conjecture that the ova are preserved, not tenable

Fish moving on dry land Ancient authorities, Greek and Roman Aristotle and Theophrastus Athenæus and Polybius Livy, Pompomus, Mela, and Juvenal Seneca and Pliny Georgius Agricola, Gesner, &c. Instances in Guiana (_note_) _Perca Scandens_, ascends trees Doubts as to the story of Daldorf

Fishes burying themselves daring the dry season The _protopterus_ of the Gambia Instances in the fish of the Nile Instances in the fish of South America Living fish dug out of the ground in the dry tanks in Ceylon Molluscs that bury themselves The animals that so bury themselves in India Analogous case of Theory of æstivation and hybernation

Fish in hot water in Ceylon

List of Ceylon fishes

Instances of fishes falling from the clouds

_Note_ on Ceylon fishes by Professor Huxley

Comparative note by Dr. Gray, Brit. Mus.

_Note_ on the Bora-chung

CHAP. XI.

MOLLUSCA, RADIATA, AND ACALEPHÆ.

I. _Conchology_.--General character of Ceylon shells Confusion regarding them in scientific works and collections Ancient export of shells from Ceylon Special forms confined to particular localities The pearl fishery of Aripo Frequent suspensions of Experiment to create beds of the pearl oyster Process of diving for pearls Danger from sharks The transparent pearl oyster (_Placuna placenta_) The "musical fish" at Ballicaloa A similar phenomenon at other places Faculty of uttering sounds in fishes Instance in the _Tritonia arborescens_ Difficulty in forming a list of Ceylon shells List of Ceylon shells

II. _Radiata_.--Star fish Sea slugs Parasitic worms Planaria

III. _Acalephæ_, abundant The Portuguese man-of-war Red infusoria _Note_ on the _Tritonia arborescens_

CHAP. XII.

INSECTS.

Profusion of insects in Ceylon Imperfect knowledge of

I. _Coleoptera_.--Beetles Scavenger beetles Coco-nut beetles Tortoise beetles

II. _Orthoptera_.--Mantis and leaf-insects Stick-insects

III. _Neuroptera_.--Dragon flies Ant-lion White ants Anecdotes of their instinct and ravages

IV. _Hymenoptera_.--Mason wasps Wasps Bees Carpenter Bee Ants Burrowing ants

V. _Lepidoptera_.--Butterflies The spectre Lycænidæ Moths Silk worms Stinging caterpillars Wood-carrying moths Pterophorus

VI. _Homoptera_ Cicada

VII. _Hemiptera_ Bugs

VIII. _Aphaniptera_

IX. _Diptera_.--Mosquitoes Mosquitoes the "plague of flies" The coffee bug

General character of Ceylon insects

List of insects in Ceylon

CHAP. XIII.

ARACHNIDÆ, MYRIOPODA, CRUSTACÆ, ETC.

Spiders Strange nets of the wood spiders The mygale Birds killed by it _Olios Taprobanius_ The galeodes Gregarious spiders Ticks Mites.--_Trombidium tinctorum_

_Myriapods_.--Centipedes Cermatia Scolopendra crassa S. pollippes The fish insect

_Millipeds_.--Julus

_Crustacæ_ Calling crabs Sand crabs Painted crabs Paddling crabs

_Annelidæ_, Leeches.--The land leech Medicinal leech Cattle leech

List of Articulata, &c.

_Note_.--On the revivification of the Rotifera and Paste-eels

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

Page

View of an Elephant Corral Frontispiece

Group of Ceylon Monkeys to face 5

The Loris (_Loris gracilis_) 12

Group of Flying Foxes (_Pteropus Edwardsii_) to face 14

Head of the Horse-shoe Bat (_Rhynulophus_) 19

Nycteribia 21

Indian Bear (_Prochylus labiatus_) 23

Ceylon Leopard and Indian Cheetah 26

Jackal's Skull and "Horn" 36

Mongoos of Neura-ellia (_Herpestes vitticollis_) 38

Flying Squirrel (_Pteromys oral_) 41

Coffee Rat (_Golunda Elliotti_) 44

Bandicoot Rat (_Mus bandicota_) 45

Pengolin (_Manis pentadactylus_) 47

Skeleton of the Pengolin 48

Moose-deer (_Moschus meminna_) 55

The Dugong (_Halicore dugung_) 69

The Mermaid, from Valentyn 72

Brain of the Elephant 95

Bones of the Fore-leg 108

Elephant descending a Hill 111

Elephant's Well 122

Elephant's Stomach, showing the Water-cells 125

Elephant's Trachea 126

Water-cells in the Stomach of the Camel 128

Section of the Elephant's Skull 145

Fence and Ground-plan of a Corral 172

Mode of tying an Elephant 184

His Struggles for Freedom 185

Impotent Fury 188

Obstinate Resistance 189

Attitude for Defence 203

Singular Contortions of an Elephant 204

Figures of the African and Indian Elephants on Greek and Roman Coins 208

Medal of Numidia 212

Modern "Hendoo" ib.

The Horn-bill (_Buceros pica_) 243

The "Devil-bird" (_Syrnium Indranec_) 247

The "Cotton-thief" (_Tchitrea paradisi_) 250

Layard Mountain Jay (_Cissa puella_) 252

The "Double-spur" (_Gallo-perdix bicalcaratus_) 260

The Flamingo (_Phoenicopterus roseus_) 261

The Kabara-goya Lizard (_Hydrosaurus salvator_) 273

The Green Calotes (_Calotes ophiomachus_) 276

Tongue of the Chameleon 278

_Ceratophora_ _to face_ 280

Skulls of the Crocodile and Alligator 283

Terrapin (_Emys trijuga_) 290

Shield-tailed Serpent (_Uropeltis grandis_) 302

Tree Snake (_Passerita fusca_) _to face_ 307

Sea Snake (_Hydrophis subloevisis_) _to face_ 311

Saw of the Saw-fish (_Pristis antiquorum_) _to face_ 326

Ray (_Aëtobates narinari_) 327

Sword-fish (_Histiophorus immaculatus_) 330

Cheironectes 331

_Pterois volitans_ 334

_Scarus harid_ 335

Perch (_Therapon quadrilineatus_) 337

Eel (_Mastacembelus armatus_) 338

Mode of Fishing, after Rain 340

Plan of a Fish Decoy 342

The Anabas of the dry Tanks 354

The Violet Ianthina and its Shell 370

_Bullia vittata_ ib.

Pearl Oysters, in various Stages of Growth _to face_ 380

Pearl Oyster, full grown _to face_ 381

_Cerithium palustre_ ib.

The Portuguese Man-of-war (_Physalus urticulus_) 399

Longicorn Beetle (_Batocera rubus_) 406

Leaf Insects, &c 409

Eggs of the Leaf Insect (_Phyllium siccifolium_) 410

The Carpenter Bee (_Xylocapa tenniscapa_) 419

Wood-carrying Moths 431

The "Knife, grinder" (_Cicada_) 432

Flata (_Elidiptera Emersoniana and Poeciloptera Tennentii_) 433

The "Coffee-bug" (_Lecanium caffeæ_) _to face_ 436

Spider (_Mygate fasciata_) _to face_ 465

Cermatia 473

The Calling Crab (_Gelusimus_) 477

Eyes and Teeth of the Leech 480

Land Leeches preparing to attack 481

Medicinal Leech of Ceylon 483