196 



from the garden at Peradeniya, Ceylon. The fruit was only 

 half grown when seen, but was reported as already six years old. 



Beyond the palm collection, the bridge is crossed to the 

 Island. At the south lies the shrub collection, containing a 

 great variety of species, but with little of special interest, unless 

 it be the yellow, leafless, dodder-like Cassytha, of the family 

 Lauraceae. Beyond this is the herbaceous garden, laid off in regu- 

 lar rectangular beds, with walks between, and arranged in system- 

 atic sequence. The small space devoted to herbaceous plants, and 

 the small number of species represented, impress one at once 

 with the relatively larger number and greater importance of trees 

 in the tropics. It also looks strange to see beds labeled with such 

 familiar names as Cruciferae and Polemoniaceae, with not a 

 single plant in them. Several American species are growing 

 here, including Portulaca oleracea, Verbesina virginica, Phyto- 

 lacca decandra, and Physostegia virginiana, and all of them look 

 rather the worse for the humid tropical climate. A row of 

 HeliantJms a^inuus, however, stands full six feet high, and blos- 

 soms profusely. A few species of Opuntia look decidedly out of 

 place, as do also the agaves and yuccas in another part of the 

 garden. 



Most of the Island is devoted to a collection of lianas. There 

 are a great many species of Menispermaceae, Bignoniaceae, 

 Leguminosae, Asclepiadaceae, and various other families, and 

 most of them offer comparatively little of interest. Among the 

 whole collection, however, a number of things are noteworthy. 



Several species of the monocotyl FlageUaria are grown, which 

 climb by a tendril terminating the leaf. This appears to be 

 insensitive to touch, and becomes permanently coiled and in- 

 durated at maturity, even if not in contact with a support. 

 There are a few species of Nepenthes. 



Among the considerable collection of anonaceous lianas, the 

 genera Uvaria and Artabotrys are especially well represented. 

 At first sight it is not apparent how they climb. There are no 

 aerial roots, they do not twine, and the whole mass is so loose 

 that it appears ready to tumble down with any wind. Search 

 soon shows that Uvaria has coiling twig bases, which may be a 



