5 



The climate is also radically different from that of western 

 Java. Here the influence of the monsoons is distinctly felt, and 

 there are pronounced wet and dry seasons. With the northeast 

 monsoon, beginning in autumn, most of the rainfall ceases, and 

 each succeeding month is drier, until in February and March 

 practically no rain falls. The southwest monsoon begins in 

 April, after a period of unusually hot weather, and brings the 

 rains. The average rainfall amounts to about 90 inches per year, 

 just about half that of Buitenzorg. The temperature is equable; 

 but not so uniform as in Java. During our stay, the nightly 

 minimum was about 70°, while the maximum was about 90° at 

 one o'clock. 



Fig. 29. FicHS elastica, with unusual root dependent. Ceylon. 



This alternation of wet and dry season has an obvious effect 

 on the vegetation. When we reached the garden, no rain had 

 fallen for more than a month, and none fell during the first five 

 weeks of our stay. As a result, the grass was brown and dry 

 and resembled an Illinois lawn after an August drought. Epi- 

 phytes are few, and the epiph\^tic ferns during the dry season 

 are flaccid and wrinkled, and feel like a rubber band. Many 

 trees show no effects "whatever, but there is noticeably a large 

 proportion of species with xerophytic leaves, such as the India 



