Sketches of Natural History of Ceylon

Sketches of Natural History of
Ceylon

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Ceylon
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Title: Sketches of Natural History of Ceylon
Author: J. Emerson Tennent
Release Date: August 29, 2004 [EBook #13325]
Language: English
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SKETCHES OF THE NATURAL HISTORY OF CEYLON
WITH
NARRATIVES AND ANECDOTES Illustrative of the Habits and
Instincts of the MAMMALIA, BIRDS, REPTILES, FISHES,

INSECTS, &c.
INCLUDING A MONOGRAPH OF
THE ELEPHANT AND A DESCRIPTION OF THE MODES OF
CAPTURING AND TRAINING IT WITH ENGRAVINGS FROM
ORIGINAL DRAWINGS
BY
SIR J. EMERSON TENNENT, K.C.S. LL.D. &c.
1861

[Illustration]
INTRODUCTION.
* * * * *
A considerable portion of the contents of the present volume formed
the zoological section of a much more comprehensive work recently
published, on the history and present condition of Ceylon.[1] But its
inclusion there was a matter of difficulty; for to have altogether omitted
the chapters on Natural History would have impaired the completeness
of the plan on which I had attempted to describe the island; whilst to
insert them as they here appear, without curtailment, would have
encroached unduly on the space required for other essential topics. In
this dilemma, I was obliged to adopt the alternative of so condensing
the matter as to bring the whole within the prescribed proportions.
But this operation necessarily diminished the general interest of the
subjects treated, as well by the omission of incidents which would
otherwise have been retained, as by the exclusion of anecdotes
calculated to illustrate the habits and instincts of the animals described.
[Footnote 1: _Ceylon: An Account of the Island, Physical, Historical,
and Typographical; with Notices of its Natural History, Antiquities,
and Productions._ By Sir JAMES EMERSON TENNENT, K.C.S.,
LL.D., &c. Illustrated by Maps. Plans, and Drawings. 2 vols. 8vo.
Longman and Co., 1859.]
A suggestion to re-publish these sections in an independent form has
afforded an opportunity for repairing some of these defects by revising
the entire, restoring omitted passages, and introducing fresh materials
collected in Ceylon; the additional matter occupying a very large
portion of the present volume.
I have been enabled, at the same time, to avail myself of the corrections

and communications of scientific friends; and thus to compensate, in
some degree for what is still incomplete, by increased accuracy in
minute particulars.
In the Introduction to the First Edition of the original work I alluded, in
the following terms, to that portion of it which is now reproduced in an
extended form:--
"Regarding the fauna of Ceylon, little has been published in any
collective form, with the exception of a volume by Dr. KELAART
entitled _Prodromus Faunæ Zeilanicæ_; several valuable papers by Mr.
EDGAR L. LAYARD in the Annals and Magazine of Natural History
for 1852 and 1853; and some very imperfect lists appended to
PRIDHAM'S compiled account of the island.[1] KNOX, in the
charming narrative of his captivity, published in the feign of Charles II.,
has devoted a chapter to the animals of Ceylon, and Dr. DAVY has
described some of the reptiles: but with these exceptions the subject is
almost untouched in works relating to the colony. Yet a more than
ordinary interest attaches to the inquiry, since Ceylon, instead of
presenting, as is generally assumed, an identity between its fauna and
that of Southern India, exhibits a remarkable diversity, taken in
connection with the limited area over which the animals included in it
are distributed. The island, in fact, may be regarded as the centre of a
geographical circle, possessing within itself forms, whose allied species
radiate far into the temperate regions of the north, as well as in to
Africa, Australia, and the isles of the Eastern Archipelago.
[Footnote 1: _An Historical, Political, and Statistical Account of
Ceylon and its Dependencies_, by C. PRIDHAM, Esq. 2 vols. 8vo.,
London, 1849.]
"In the chapters that I have devoted to its elucidation, I have
endeavoured to interest others in the subject, by describing my own
observations and impressions, with fidelity, and with as much accuracy
as may be expected from a person possessing, as I do, no greater
knowledge of zoology and the other physical sciences than is ordinarily
possessed by any educated gentleman. It was my good fortune,
however, in my journeys to have the companionship of