76 8P0LIA ZEYLANICA. 



THE PIONEERS OF CEYLON NATURAL HISTORY.* 



By E. Ernest Green. 



AT this first meeting since the inauguration of our Society, it 

 would seem appropriate to give a short account of the 

 progress of Natural History, in connection with Ceylon, since the 

 European occupation of the Island, and of the persons who have 

 done most to further our knowledge of the subject. 



In the earlier days, when scientific literature was neither so 

 abundant nor so far reaching as it now is, all knowledge of the Natural 

 History of the country had, perforce, to be gained entirely at first 

 hand. At the present day, although a vast amount of original 

 work still remains to be done, we have the very great advantage of 

 solid stepping-stones laid down by former workers, and it should 

 be the aim of this Society to add further landmarks for the benefit 

 of future students. 



In the present Paper I propose to review very briefly some of 

 those workers and their work, as far as possible, in chronological 

 order. I am conscious that there must be many omissions in my 

 roll of names ; but it has been impossible, in the short time available 

 for the preparation of this account, to make an exhaustive search 

 amongst the old records, which alone can supply the necessary 

 information. It is not my intention to refer to the writings of 

 scientists who have never been resident in or even visited Ceylon, 

 useful and important though they are. I shall confine my remarks 

 as much as possible to the work of those lovers of nature who, in 

 the midst of other and widely different occupations, have found 

 pleasure in studying the natural objects that have surrounded them. 

 It has always been a matter of wonder to me that such a large 

 percentage of the inhabitants of this country — or even of the world — 

 can go through life without any interest in or desire for a more 

 intimate knowledge of the teeming life around them. Up till quite 

 recent times a Naturalist was regarded as somewhat of a freak, and 

 was too generally represented as an amiable lunatic without any 

 business capacity. Even the most trivial observation often proves, 

 ultimately, to have a bearing, the importance of which was not 

 recognized at the time. 



* A Paper read at the First General Meeting, of the Ceylon Natural History 

 Society, March 26, 1912. 



