1883.] Recent Literature. 957 
some very interesting forms, particularly among the lowest orders 
of marine life: Radiolaria and Infusoria, sponges and corals, Me- 
duse and Siphonophora; still, on the whole, the creatures of the 
ocean-surface, as well as those of the coast-waters, displayed a 
close affinity to the well-known marine fauna of the tropical Pa- 
cific, as, for instance, the Philippine Fiji groups. 
“It is quite possible,” he adds, “ that other shores round India 
may be richer in various and peculiar forms than Ceylon. One 
unfavorable condition is the enormous and regular daily rainfall, 
which appears to reduce the saltness of the sea along the coast, 
and to check the growth of the marine animals.’ 
The following quotation from a description of the primeval 
forest on the table land of Ceylon, is an excellent picture of trop- 
ical nature, and is a good example of Haeckel’s style: 
“ But what is our sophisticated ‘ Waldeinsamkeit '"—with a vil- 
lage a few miles away, at the best—to the real and immeasurable 
solitude which reigns in this primeval wilderness of the Cingha- 
lese highlands? Here, indeed, we are sure of being alone with 
inviolate nature. I never shall forget the delicious stillness of 
the days I spent in the sombre woods and sunny savannahs at the 
World’s End. * * * Thesenseof utter loneliness which per- 
vades these wilds is greatly heightened by the fact that the ani- 
mals which inhabit them show scarcely any outward signs of life. 
The wild elephant is, no doubt, to this day the monarch of the 
forest, but once only did I ever see any; and the great Russa- 
deer, or elk (Rusa aristotelis), which is said not to be uncom- 
mon, and of which I often heard reports, I never saw at all. 
These and most other natives of the forest are, in fact, chiefly 
or exclusively nocturnal in their habits, and during the day re- 
main hidden in the deep cool coverts. Even the great gray ape 
(Presbytis ursinus), which is very common here, I but rarely saw, 
though I often heard its gruff tones early in the morning. 
“The melancholy cries of some birds, particularly the green 
wood pigeons and bee-eaters are rarely heard excepting in the 
early dawn; at a later hour the gaudy jungle cock (Gallus lafay- 
ett) is the only bird that breaks the silence. This gorgeous spe- 
cies appears to be nearly allied to the first parent of our domestic 
hen is dressed in modest grayish-brown. The sonorous call of 
this wild fowl, which is fuller and more tuneful than the crow of 
his farm-yard cousin, is often heard for hours in the wood, now 
near, now distant; for the rival cocks compete zealously in this 
: | vocal entertainment for the favor of the critical hens. I could, 
er, rarely get within shot, for they are so shy and cautious 
that the slightest rustle interrupts the performance, and when 
once I had fired a shot the forest was silent for a long time after. 
“T often sat painting for hours on some fallen tree-trunk with- 
