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POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



interested in the world of nature or in his fellow man. There are 

 broad lowlands with coeoanut trees and fields of rice, alternating with 

 patches of deep jungle in which the natives have cleared bits of ground 

 and built their huts. In the higher altitudes tea fields and chocolate 

 plantations are the rule. But here also are stretches of uncleared 

 forest with trees of all heights and sizes, frequently some with hand- 



Fig. 1. View in the Pandanus Quarter of the Peradeniya Gardens, Ceylon* 

 Note the curious prop roots of these trees. From a photograph by the author. 



some red or violet colored flowers standing out boldly amid a mass of 

 dark green. 



The garden at Peracleniya is only one of a number on the island. 

 It is, however, the largest and most important. Here are the offices 

 of the director of the gardens, whose duties correspond to those of a 

 government secretary of agriculture. Other gardens and experiment 



