From these creepers hang the
sabre-beans. Everything seems on a supernatural scale - the
bean-pod four feet or more in length, by three inches in breadth;
the beans two inches in diameter.
Here may be seen the most valuable woods of Ceylon. The ebony
grows in great perfection and large quantity. This tree is at
once distinguished from the surrounding stems by its smaller
diameter and its sooty trunk. The bark is crisp, jet black, and
has the appearance of being charred. Beneath the bark the wood
is perfectly white until the heart is reached, which is the fine
black ebony of commerce. Here also, equally immovable, the
calamander is growing, neglected and unknown. This is the most
esteemed of all Ceylon woods, and it is so rare that it realizes
a fancy price. It is something similar to the finest walnut, the
color being a rich hazel brown, mottled and striped with
irregular black marks. It is superior to walnut in the extreme
closeness of the grain and the richness of its color.
There are upward of eighty different woods produced in Ceylon,
which are made use of for various purposes; but of these many are
very inferior. Those most appreciated are-
Calamander, Ebony, chiefly used for furniture and cabinet work.
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