PIONEERS OF CEYLON NATUEAL HISTORY. 83 



advantage to have the means of rendering permanent and available 

 for future reference, notes on the habits of creatures which become 

 more shy and difficult to procure as time goes on and the new order 

 of things replaces the old." But Dr. Willey's claim for inclusion 

 amongst the pioneers of Ceylon Natural History does not rest 

 solely upon his connection with Sfolia Zeylanica. Though by 

 training a marine biologist, he rapidly acquired a working know- 

 ledge of all the branches of zoology in the Island, and so was in a 

 position to give valuable assistance to specialists in various groups of 

 animal life. 



Of his worthy successor I must say nothing, as I fear to outrage 

 his modesty ; but his action in initiating this Society is a pleasing 

 foretaste of the assistance that we may confident^ expect from him. 



Any account of the Pioneers of Ceylon Natural History would be 

 incomplete without mention of Oliver Collett, a planter whose 

 abounding love of nature, coupled with a genial personality, could 

 not fail to excite, amongst others, a reflected interest in the studies 

 that were so dear to him. His knowledge of the land shells of 

 Ceylon was unique, and he was recognized as an authority on the 

 subject far beyond the boundaries of our Island. The fine collection 

 that he amassed between the years of 1890 and 1901 is now lodged 

 in the Colombo Museum. His death, in the prime of life, was a 

 real loss to science, and it is a matter for regret that no one in 

 Ceylon has arisen to carry on and complete his work. Collett 

 published many Papers in the Journals of the Malacological and 

 Royal Microscopial Societies. 



Another planter, of similar tastes, was F. Brooke Armstrong, 

 who was resident in Ceylon between 1880 and 1893. He added 

 several new species to the list of our Ceylon moths ; but was more 

 specially attracted to the study of bird life. Spending all his spare 

 time in the jungle, he acquired an intimate knowledge of the habits 

 of the rarer and more retiring birds. Not only did he know all 

 their notes, but displayed extraordinary skill in imitating them. 

 He provided material and copious notes for Murray's book on the 

 Birds of Ceylon. 



Major (now Colonel) Yerbury, R.A., while stationed at Trincomalee 

 some time in the eighteen-eighties, studied the entomology of the 

 East Coast of the Island, paying special attention to the Diptera, or 

 two -winged flies, and added much to our knowledge of this generally 

 neglected order of insects. 



Though not strictly residents of Ceylon, the Drs. Sarasin made a 

 prolonged visit to the Island in 1883, and conducted an exhaustive 

 study of the development of the curious eel-like animal Icthyophis 

 glutinosa, thereby solving its systematic position amongst the 

 Batrachia. On their return to Europe they published, in 1886, 

 some magnificently illustrated memoirs entitled " Scientific 



