SOME BOTANIC GARDENS ABROAD. 



195 



crops are cultivated on a scale sufficiently large to permit of judg- 

 ing as to their commercial feasibility. The product of the 

 station is sold in the open market under the native name of the 

 estate, and the results obtained can thus be compared with those 

 from any ordinary j^lantation, while in case of usual experiment 

 stations the products receive a higher price on account of the 

 name of the institution. 

 XII. Henaratgoda Botanic Garden, Ceylon. 



In the year 1876 the government of India dispatched a man 

 to Brazil for the purpose of obtaining seeds of the Para rubber 

 tree, and when it was found that the climatic conditions of 

 India were unsuitable, the seeds were sent to Ceylon. They 

 were planted in the new experiment garden at Henaratgoda, 

 some 17 miles from Colombo. This garden is at a low elevation, 

 only about 16 feet above sea level, and the climatic conditions 

 are distinctly tropical. The rainfall here is about 100 inches 

 per annum, and well distributed throughout the year. The 

 mean temj)erature is about 82° F, 



Figure 30. Tapping Para Rubber tree (Hevea Braziliensis) at Henaratgoda. 



