526 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 192 8 



may move to Kandy (1,600 feet above sea level) where, owing to 

 elevation and other influences, the nights are cool (occasionally cold) 

 and where the mean temperature of each month in the year rarely 

 deviates more than a single degree from 76° F., the mean annua-l 

 temperature. 



If, however, the naturalist desires a change of study and still 

 cooler surroundings, let him move to the summer capital, Nuwara 

 Eli3^a, 6,500 feet above sea level, where he may enjoy all year round 

 the conditions and appearances of a New England spring. Although 

 he will never anywhere in Ceylon see snow, the evenings and nights 

 at this elevation are quite cold and fires, overcoats, and blankets are 

 among conveniences not to be despised. 



Ceylon, thanks to British enterprise and good government, is grid- 

 ironed by excellent motor roads. They, in conjunction with the 

 railways, provide access to all parts of the colon}^, even to out-of- 

 the-way jungle and mountain areas. This provision renders field 

 studies of its flora and fauna comparatively easy tasks, and if the 

 student of nature will avoid alcoholic beverages, is careful to eat 

 only well-cooked food and ripe fruit fresh from its protective cover- 

 ings and to drink boiled or bottled liquids he can laugh at the dysen- 

 tery, typhoid fever, and similar ailments that may affect the careless 

 and imj^rovident in any country. 



With this regulation of diet the only disease likely to attack the 

 visitor to the Ceylon jungle is malaria. That danger may be nulli- 

 fied by sleeping always under a well-made and untorn net, after one's 

 servant (better, do it yourself) has carefully inspected the bed and 

 the interior of the net to make certain that all mosquitos in them are 

 killed. Remember this rule of the jungle applicable in all malarial 

 countries : Protect yourself from the deadly female anopheles, that 

 winged serpent that between sunset and sunrise seeks whom she may 

 devour. Eliminating this danger one may freely explore the wild- 

 est Sinhalese forest with little discomfort and with slight danger to 

 life and limb. 



My first lesson in wild sylva was provided by the environs of 

 Kandy. The borders of the lovely little lake that forms its center 

 are embellished by a dozen of the most beautiful flowering species 

 in the whole world. A walk of three or four miles about that lacus- 

 trine, park-like area furnishes a liberal education in tropical botani- 

 cal life. If one wishes to take a further course in this fascinating 

 subject, a few miles away are the beautiful gardens of Peradiniya 

 and Hakgalla. 



Nor is the study of jungle zoology less restricted ; to acquaint one- 

 self with the birds, mammals, and reptiles of this charming country 

 may well occupy several years of one's lifetime. In the few pages 

 at my command I shall, of course, be able to speak of but few of the 



