A TROPICAL BOTANIC GARDEN. 405 



hand what excellent memories are preserved of the long days on 

 board ! The apprehension which has the least foundation in fact, that of 

 the dangers which one incurs by i^assiug a few months in a tropical 

 country, is yet more difficult to dissipate. The false opinions ou this 

 subject, which are found in every country, have a singular tenacity of 

 life. If one only goes to a healthy and civilized locality a sojourn of 

 a few months in a tropical country presents no danger whatever. On 

 the contrary, for many constitutions, autumn and winter in Europe are 

 far from being as healthy as the climate of the tropics. Certainly it is 

 l^ossiblc that the latter may be injurious, but such an effect is only felt 

 after a prolonged exposure. 



However unfounded such fears may be they can not be overcome if 

 there remains any doubt but that a sojourn of some months in a botanic 

 garden in the extreme Orient will be of great use to a naturalist. The 

 remark has sometimes been made that a botanic garden of this kind, 

 however great and rich it may be, can not give by itself any adequate 

 idea of the vegetation of a virgin forest which has such an irresistible 

 attraction for the observer of living nature. This is true, but it should 

 not be forgotten that in Java, as in many other tropical countries, 

 primitive nature and civilization jostle each other. At Buitenzorg, the 

 vice-regal residence, an excursion of 1, 2, or 3 days transports the bot- 

 anists to a perfectly virgin forest, so near is it. Besides, a branch 

 establishment of tlie garden is situated upon the mountain called 

 Tjibodas, which touches the very edge of the forest from which it was 

 recov^ered. There naturalists visiting the botanical station of Buitenzorg 

 go to pass some time for the purpose of making observations and gather- 

 ing at their ease plants from their native wilds. In order that these 

 wilds may be safe from any injury by the natives, and that their ])rim- 

 itive character may be preserved, the government has taken care to put 

 an area of some 250 hectares [nearly 1 square mile] under the immediate 

 control of the botanic garden. 



There are certain obstacles to be met when one would make a voyage 

 to the East Indies, such for exami)le as i)reparing for an absence of 

 considerable duration, a leave to be obtained or a public mission to be 

 asked for, or objections of members of the family unaccustomed to travel- 

 ling. Therefore it may be asked whether such a voyage secures to the 

 investigator not only the certainty of establishing new facts which 

 may be arranged on well-known lines, but also whether there is much 

 chance of discovering new paths which when explored will lead science 

 to new results. This question should receive a stronger affirmative 

 answer than might be supposed by many naturalists who have never 

 quitted Europe. In order to appreciate how fierce is the struggle for 

 life in the tropics, and to comprehend how nature has exhausted herself 

 in furnishing to the combatants a diversity of offensive and defensive 

 arms elsewhere unknown, it is necessary to observe it upon the spot. 

 One must see for one's self — to cite but one example — trees of lofty 



