History of Ceylon Botany. 375 



Plantarum Indise Orientalis.' This last great work, commenced in 

 1840 and concluded in six volumes in 1853, containing 2100 

 excellent quarto plates, has done more for the illustration of the 

 Flora of Ceylon than all others hitherto published. In 1853, after 

 a residence of upwards of thirty years in India, during which he 

 had published in the above-mentioned and other works nearly 

 3000 species of Indian (including Ceylon) plants, he retired from 

 the service, returned to England, and took up his abode at 

 Grazeley Lodge, near Reading, where he died, May 26th, 1872. 

 His collection he presented to the herbarium of the Royal 

 Gardens, Kew. Wightia gigantea, a remarkable Nepalese scandent 

 tree, of the Order Scrophularineiz, was dedicated to his services by 

 Wallich. 



John George Champion, F.Xi.S., was born about 1815, 

 and in 1831 was gazetted as ensign in the 95th. He embarked 

 for active service as captain in 1838, was stationed for some time 

 in the Ionian Islands, where he collected insects diligently, and 

 subsequently in Ceylon, where he took up botany under Gardner, 

 remaining there until 1848. He then proceeded to Hongkong, 

 whence he returned to England in 1850, bringing with him 

 a fine collection of plants from that island, which were described 

 by Bentham, and afterwards incorporated in the ' Flora Hong- 

 kongensis.' In 1853 Champion went with his regiment to the 

 Crimea. Having been wounded at the battle of Inkermann, and 

 taken to the hospital at Scutari, he was gazetted lieutenant-colonel, 

 but died November 30th, 1854. He is commemorated by the 

 Sinhalese genus Championia, Gardner. 



Almost coincident with Colonel Champion's arrival in the island 

 in a military capacity was that of another energetic amateur, who 

 came as a civilian, William Ferguson, who, born in 1820, 

 entered the Ceylon Civil Service in 1839, an d> "v^'ith the exception 

 of short furloughs, remained there until his death, which took place 

 at Colombo on July 31st, 1887. He devoted his leisure to botany 

 and entomology, and his knowledge of the plants and insects of 

 Ceylon became most intimate. Many of his papers appeared in 

 the 'Ceylon Observer' and in the 'Tropical Agriculturist.' He 

 published, at Colombo, 'The Scripture Botany of Ceylon,' nd; 

 ' Description of the Palmyra Palm. (Borassus Jtabelliformis, L.),' 

 1850 ; 'The Timber Trees of Ceylon,' 1863; 'Notes on Ceylon 

 Ferns,' 1880; and, in the 'Journal' of the Ceylon branch of the 

 Royal Asiatic Society, an ' Enumeration of Ceylon Grasses, with 

 notes,' 1880. He is commemorated by the monotypic genus 

 Ferguso?iia, Hook, fil., in the Order Rubiacecs. 



A new era seemed about to dawn for Ceylon botany when, in 

 1843, & r - George Gardner was, on the recommendation of Sir 

 William Hooker, appointed Superintendent of the Botanical Garden 

 of Peradeniya. Born in Glasgow in 181 2, he had studied medicine 

 in the university of that city, graduating M.D. in 1835. Having 



