THE 



POPULAR SCIENCE 



MONTHLY. 



SEPTEMBER, 1908 



THE BOTANICAL GAEDENS OF CEYLON 



By Peofessor FRANCIS RAMALEY 



UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO 



fcfc A X English glass house glorified" is the description which a 

 -£j- British friend of the writer gave to the garden at Peradeniya, 

 Ceylon. And such it truly is. The brilliant foliage, the strange 

 orchids and pitcher plants, the luxuriant ferns, the uncanny screw- 

 pines, are just what one might see in a gentleman's conservatory — only 

 more wonderful and luxuriant, grown taller and more fair. As a 

 " show place " these gardens are not equaled anywhere in the world 

 and as a place of scientific interest to botanists there are few rivals. 

 Haeckel, the German zoologist and philosopher, said of his visit to 

 Peradeniya that in the four days which he spent there he learned more 

 botany than he could have learned at home in as many months of hard 

 study. 1 



Ceylon has been described as a " dew-drop on the brow of India " 

 and so far as position is concerned it is certainly very closely related 

 to the Indian peninsula. In climate, too, and in the flora and fauna, 

 the northern part of the island is strikingly Indian; the same may be 

 said of the inhabitants. On the other hand, southern and central 

 Ceylon has a climate of its own and the people as well as the plants 

 and animals are quite different. 



Peradeniya is situated in the center of Ceylon about seventy miles 

 Try rail from Colombo, the capital of the island. There is no town 

 here, but only a post-office and a few scattered huts. The city of 

 Kandy, however, is only three miles distant by rail or wagon road. 



In going from Colombo to Peradeniya the trains are slow, but the 

 traveler does not complain. Indeed, he would wish his journey length- 

 ened, for the trip affords a four-hour introduction to tropical scenery 

 which is nowhere surpassed. Any one can enjoy the journey whether 



1 Haeckel, " India and Ceylon," Ch. VI. 

 vol. iiXxin. — 13. 



