2o6 POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



maceae, is especially noteworthy. An exhaustive study of the trees of 

 the ebony genus has been made by Mr. Herbert Wright. Mr. E. H. 

 Lock has also done some remarkably good work in plant-breeding ex- 

 periments which deserve special mention. Various students have 

 worked on minor problems, with results which have been published in 

 both European and American journals. In June, 1.901, there was 

 begun the publication of the Annals of the Royal Botanic Gardens, 

 Peradeniya. 3 This publication is issued at irregular intervals at a 

 nominal price. It contains contributions from the director and other 

 members of the scientific staff of the gardens. 



The West Indies and the Philippines will, no doubt, attract more 

 students of botany from America than will Ceylon, but in a few years 

 no one will claim to be a trained botanist unless he has had the ad- 

 vantages of study in some tropical laboratory. There is no tropical land 

 which offers better opportunity than Ceylon for botanical study. Nor 

 can one find any tropical country with a more intelligent and progress- 

 ive population, finer cities or more beautiful scenery. 



One will naturally make comparisons between botanical opportunity 

 at Peradeniya and at Buitenzorg, 4 in Java. It may be said that the 

 establishment at Buitenzorg is much older and better provided with 

 funds, but that Peradeniya is a more comfortable place to live, that 

 traveling is much less complicated and communication more easy be- 

 cause of the use of English by the natives. In Java one must learn 

 Malay in order to communicate with servants. On account of the very 

 moist climate, Buitenzorg presents a more luxuriant vegetation, but this 

 very great moisture makes work harder, and in the afternoons it is 

 practically impossible to do any kind of study in the garden on account 

 of rain. To many people the large number of visitors in the Buiten- 

 zorg gardens seems a detriment. The place is too much " civilized." 

 At Peradeniya, on the other hand, the number of casual visitors is 

 rather small, and they do not embarrass the student by their presence or 

 their questions. It will be seen that it is impossible to say which of 

 the two places will be better for the student. Something depends on 

 the kind of work he wishes to do and very much depends on his own 

 temperament. In fact, both gardens should be visited, and the length 

 of time spent in each be determined by conditions as they arise. 



3 Students interested in knowing more concerning the opportunities for 

 research at Peradeniya should consult the first number of the Annals in which 

 these opportunities are fully set forth. An excellent account of the island of 

 Ceylon with a statement of its resources is given in the " World's Fair Hand- 

 book of Ceylon," prepared for the St. Louis Exposition. 



4 See an article by the present writer in this magazine for November, 1905. 



