540 NOTES. 



The striped palm squirrel {Sciurus palmarum) is the chief 

 oflfender. It bites through the flower stalk, takes the flower 

 in its fore paws, and after one nibble drops it. The flower 

 thus treated exhibits an oval hole, about 4X3 mm., through 

 the calyx and corolla, near the base of the flower. This hole 

 does not give free access to the corolla tube, but is blocked 

 on the inner side by the disc, and consequently it is clear that 

 the squirrel cannot extract anything solid from the interior 

 of the flower. Both expanded and unopened flowers are 

 attacked, the former more generally. 



The Loriquet {Loriculus indicus) works in the same way, 

 picking off the whole flower and holding it before injuring it. 

 It does not, however, bite a piece out, but makes two small 

 punctures, as a rule, through the calyx and corolla at about 

 the same level as the hole made by the squirrel. 



The third oflender noted is the Honeysucker {Cinnyris 

 zeylonicus). It simply tears a hole through the corolla with 

 its beak. The flower does not fall off unless it is nearly mature 

 and ready to fall in the normal way. 



In all three cases the attraction appears to be the nectar 

 which is found, sometimes in large quantity, in the corolla 

 tube.— T. P. 



The Cherry at Nuwara Eliya. — The statement that the 

 Cherry is an evergreen at Nuwara Eliya and does not bear 

 fruit appears to be firmly established in botanical literature 

 as an example of the influence of the change of climate on 

 deciduous trees. Pfeffer refers to the Cherry in Ceylon as an 

 evergreen in Pflanzcnphysiologie, Bd. 2, p. 270, and cites De 

 Candolle as his authority. Askenasy states that the Cherry 

 is evergreen in Ceylon, and does not produce fruit (tlber die 

 jahrhche Periode der Knospen, Bot. Zeit., 1877, p. 841), also 

 citing De Candolle. The latter's statement, however, in 

 Geograjihio JBotanique, p. 391 (1855), is that, when transferred 

 to Ceylon, the Cherry does not lose its leaves ; he does not 

 state that it does not produce fruit. 



The origin of these statements is apparently to be found in 

 an account of the vegetation of Ceylon, by Gardner, published 

 in Jour. Hoit. 8oc., London, IV. (1849), pp. 31-40. Gardner 

 wrote : " In place of losing their leaves for nearly six months- 



