Observed in a tour through India and Ceylon. 121 
Peradeniya, alt. c. 1200 ft. 
March 10th, 1904. 
These justly celebrated gardens lie about four miles 
south of Kandy near the centre of the island. Their 
situation is beautiful and all the familiar “ hot-house 
plants” grow luxuriantly. Splendid palms of many kinds, 
huge bamboos almost as tall, Dracewnas, Crotons, Acalyphas, 
Marantas, nutmeg, cinnamon, camphor, huge trees of 
Ficus elastica with roots spreading far over the surface, etc., 
etc. Grass has been largely ousted by the sensitive-plant, 
Mimosa pudica, which, introduced from South America, 
has run wild. It grows about a foot and half high, and 
when one walks through it a broad path is left owing to 
the collapse of the leaves. 
Here, well out of reach, I saw my first Ornithoptera, 
truly it is well named ; I missed a second specimen through 
sheer excitement. Several Catopsilia pomona were netted, 
one was a female verging on the catil/a form, the others 
were typical males, one of which had a slight scent. Of 
three male Zerias hecabe two were wet-season, the other 
of “intermediate wet” form. <A male 7’ libythea was also 
of wet-season type, a female was also taken. The only 
Nymphalids noted were two Neptis varmona and several 
Precis tphita. Were also I took my first Parantica 
ceylonica, Feld., a Danaid found in abundance later. 
Of Mycalesis mandata, Moore, I only saw one, but the 
pretty little VYphthima ceylonica was swarming amongst 
the sensitive-plants. Mr. E. E. Green, the entomologist 
to the Ceylon Government, suggested that its colouring 
might be indirectly protective, since on the wing it looks 
much smaller than it is, only the white posterior two- 
thirds of the hind-wings being conspicuous, and these the 
least vitally important to the insect. The only Blue seen 
was Zizera karsandra, Moore. 
A second visit to the gardens, rather late one afternoon, 
produced no insects, but gave me my only sight of a wild 
cobra, about 24 feet long, with a very large “hood”; it 
crawled quickly away into the roots of a “ travellers’ palm.” 
Unfortunately for me Mr. Green was on the point of 
going to England on leave, but though busy with his 
preparations for departure, he was good enough to show 
me several very interesting things, such as larvee of the 
