THE WOODS OF THE ISLAND. 165

heads of animals. A villager on his way from the field, his
wife carrying a sheaf of the “paddy” plant and leading her
naked child, a Mudaliyar and a Ratemahatmaya and their
wives, are figured with remarkable skill. Crowningall is a
graceful dagoba, with two devotees prone on either side. and
two eagles gazing on it from afar.
There are also several small boxes and other articles on
exhibition. The trade calamander of to-day is well represented
 by the carved settee and pair of chairs shown by
Messrs. FL. Don Carolis &amp; Son, the leading furniture dealers
in Colombo.
Ebony (Disopyros Ebennum) is sister to calamander; a
massive semi-circular table of this elegant and valuable
sabinet wood, designed after an ancient moonstone, is exhibited
 by the Anglo-Oriental Furnishing Co. of Colombo,
and a handsome table of inlaid Ceylon woods with an ebony
pedestal by Mrs. W. L. H. Skeen.
There are also several beautiful tables of various Ceylon
woods inlaid with ivory available for sale, as well as a
miscellaneous selection of carved ebony boxes, writing cases,
jewel boxes, photograph stands, elephants, walking sticks, &amp;e.
Some of the prettiest exhibits are inlaid with porcupine
quills, the work of the Galle artisans, famous throughout
Ceylon for their skill in carving, and they include another
settee and pair of chairs, also exhibited by Messrs. H. Don
Carolis &amp; Son. Curious walking sticks made of arecanut
(Areca catechir) and fans made of the compressed leaves of
the palmyra (Borassus flabelliformis) by the patient Tamil
workmen of the north, State winbrellas made of the fronds
of the talipot (Corypha umbraculifera), crabs carved out of
the wood of the calamander and suriya (Zhespesia populneay,
and cocoanut shells delicately and curiously carved into
all manner of articles, will also attract attention. The red
halmilla (Berrya Ammonila), with its tough and elastic
wood, is much in demand among carriage builders, and is
largely exported to India. A massive column of this wood,
carved in imitation of a stone column from a sixteenth
century temple, should be noticed.
The Tamarind (Tamarindus indica), one of the heaviest
of Ceylon woods, is nowhere found in a wild state; its
care and richly variegated heart-wood, closely resembling
salamander, is well illustrated by the handsome cabinet,
copied from an ancient Dutch article, exhibited by Mr.
P. E. Pieris, C.C.S. The fruit of the tamarind is largely
ased in native cookery and its leaf in medicine.
Rushes of various kinds abound, the mats made of them
being the beds in use in the large majority of native