EASTERN MODE OF FEEDING OXEN.
"In many of the stables where these animals are kept, the stall is arranged so that when the occupant is feeding he must place his fore-feet considerably higher than his hind ones. The natives believe that this process causes the food to digest more readily than if all the feet of the ox are on a level."
When Frank had finished, it was Fred's turn to think of something that had been forgotten.
"It will never do," said he, "to leave our accounts of Ceylon without saying something about Adam's Bridge. As you have looked after the oxen, it is my duty to attend to the story of the bridge."
And so, after collecting from the books they had with them and from personal information, Fred wrote as follows:
"Ceylon is fifty-three miles from India, but is almost connected with it by some islands and a reef that together form what is called Adam's Bridge. There are two islands, Ramisseram and Manaar, and the rest of the bridge is a reef of sand and sandstone. There are several openings, the largest being forty yards wide and ten feet deep; the Government has proposed to deepen it so as to allow the passage of large ships, and will probably do so one of these days. It is certain to cost a great deal of money, and that is why it has been postponed.
"The Hindoo legends say the bridge was made by one of their gods, assisted by an army of monkeys, who built it in a single night. The Bramins also claim it, and so do the Mohammedan Arabs, who gave it the name of Adam's Bridge, and say that Adam came from India and crossed on this bridge on his way to heaven, which he reached by jumping from the peak which bears his name. Some of the old accounts declare that Ceylon was once joined to the Continent, and several English engineers and geologists who have examined the formation of the land say this is quite probable.