Let us consider the capabilities of the locality from which it is
collected.
The lakes are some five or six in number, situated within half a
mile of the sea, separated only by a high bank of drift sand,
covered for the most part with the low jungle which clothes the
surrounding country. Flat plains of a sandy nature form the
margins of the lakes. The little town of Hambantotte, with a
good harbor for small craft, is about twenty miles distant, to
which there is a good cart road.
The water of these lakes is a perfect brine. In the dry season
the evaporation, of course, increases the strength until the
water can no longer retain the amount of salt in solution it
therefore precipitates and crystalizes at the bottom in various
degrees of thickness, according to the strength of the brine.
Thus, as the water recedes from the banks by evaporation and the
lake decreases in size, it leaves a beach, not of shingles, but
of pure salt in crystallized cubes, to the depth of several
inches, and sometimes to half a foot or more. The bottom of the
lake is equally coated with this thick deposit.
These lakes are protected by watchers, who live upon the margin
throughout the year.
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