865 
DR. TRIMEN'S REPORT ON THE 
ROYAL BOTANIC GARDENS. 
Dr. Trimen's reports are always full of intereBt- 
ing information regardicg the valuable institutions 
under bis oare and the plants culivated in them 
or distributed from them. On this occasion fresh 
intp.rest attaches to the report for 1891, juEt is- 
sued, on account of the descriptions given of the 
kindred institutions in the Straits and Java. All 
\^ho have visited the Buitenzorg Gardens and the 
Library, Museum and other accessories of the 
Gardens will feel that the truly imperial liberality 
of the Dutch Government deserves all the praise 
which the eminent] Ceylon botanist bestows on the 
institutions of whioh Dr. Treub is the very effi- 
cient head. The publication whioh Dr. Trimen 
mentions under the title of ' Teijsmannia" per- 
petuates the name of a previous able Director of 
the Buitenzorg Gardens. — If we have it not already 
in Ceylon, we cannot doubt that Dr. Trimen wili 
at once take measures to introduce and naturalize 
the tree known botanioally as Eusideroxi/lon, the 
hard wood of which is never attacked by termites. 
The pepper so valued in medicine known as cubebs 
seems already to have been euooessfully introduced 
into Peradeniya, and no doubt plants wili be avail- 
able a few years hence. — The tank whioh has 
been formed at Peradeniya and which enables 
water plants to be grown in sunk pots is a great 
improvement, as well as the substitution of the 
scythe for the grass knife in the treatment of 
portions of lawns, whioh the mowing machines 
cannot efiectually deal with. The prolonged wet 
had acted deleteriously on giant bamboos and young 
palmyra plants. The palmyra is essentially a palm 
of the dry zone ; but we are familiar with some 
fine specimens close to the seashore at Colombo. 
On this occasion, as on all others, we would 
impress on the Government and the members of 
the Forest Department the duty of extending the 
cultivation of this useful palm in the northern 
and eastern portions of the island. As Dr. Trimen 
shows, valuable fibre is now added to the ex- 
cellent timber, fruit and saccharine juice 
whioh the tree yields. There was a consider- 
able inorease of visitors to Peradeniya and 
Hakgala during 1891, including the heir 
to the Russian throne, who planted an irou 
wood tree at Peradeniya opposite to a bo-tree 
whioh had been previously planted by the heir 
to the British ihrone. 'ihe year to which the 
report refers was exceptionally wet in the south- 
west and central regions of Uejlon, the rainfall 
at Peradeniya showing excesses of 34 inches of 
rain and 63 rainy days over the averages. The 
figures were 117 71 inches, against an average of 
8i-99, and 212 rainy days against an average of 
149. Of the rain 27 73 inches feU in October. 
Similar weather, varied by drought and frost, 
prevailed at Hakgala, to the great detriment of 
walks and the desiruotion of plants. Mr. Nock 
complains of the dilatoriness of the Public Works 
Department in regard to a reservoir to provide 
against drought, and states that he is using brick 
labels to distinguish the plants grown at Hakgala 
after the example set at Peradeniya. It is interest- 
ing to learn that in the mountain gardens a 
quantity of cowslips and oxlipa llowered amongst 
the ferns in February. Plums of superior kinds 
grafted on common stooks and good kinds 
introduced from Japan promise to be very suo- 
cesstul at Hakgala, whence they can ba distributed 
to the gardens of planters and others, Tho 
American blackberry also promises to bu a Buooess. 
Tho same cannot yol bo said of cherries and 
raspberries. It is euoouraging to learn that Bome 
of the conifers in tho gardens have begun to 
yield good seeds, for deodar seeds from the 
Himalayas have, we believe, uniformly failed to 
germinate in Ceylon. What is said by Mr. Nook 
about the roots of Acacia decurrens shows that 
this wattle and its congeners ought not to be 
grown amongst or even near other plants. The 
tree and its roots and root shoots simply mono- 
polize the soil. Cupressus macrocarpa is a success 
at Hakgala. The more 's the pity that plants of 
this tree and of frenela, pinus, &o., which had been 
grown successfully on the patanas were destroyed 
by a fire supposed to have been wilfully kindled. 
The putting out of plants on the patanas goes 
on. Mr. Nock is justifiably enthusiastic about the 
effect of a bed of phloxes of thirteen difierent 
colours. He dwells on the necessity of manure and 
states that he has opened a permanent limekiln. 
Two of his cattle were killed by a leopard. The 
weather at Hakgala, it will be seen, was abnormal. 
The minimum temperature on the grass registered 
five times below 40° and nineteen times below 50' 
in January. On the 30th of that month the frost 
was very severe at Sita Bliya, more native plants 
having been blackened by it than Mr, Nock had 
ever observed before. Severe drought and heavy 
rainfall were equally trying. The total rainfall 
for the year was 118 65 whioh fell on 205 days, 
being 33'51 inches above the average fall of seven 
years, but only one above the average of rainy 
days, a curious result, surely. The rainfall in 
October was 22-85 inches. The temperature of the 
air was— maximum 73", minimum 41'5°. Highest 
in tho sun's rays 148 8°, lowest on the grass 33-8° 
on March 1st. — The rainfall of the tropical gardens 
at Henaratgoda is given for the first time: 120*17 
inches on 172 days, 22 51 falling in October. Dr. 
Trimen laments the paucity of visitors to these 
gardens, which we believe is largely due to incon- 
venient railway arrangements. There is a favour- 
able report of the growth of trees and plants in 
the Anuradhapura gardens, in which, however, the 
people intended to be benefited appear to take not 
tho slightest interest. The few purchasers of plants 
are all Tamils. What is wanted to waken up the 
inert Sinhalese is the extension of the railway. A 
like good account is given of the BaduUa gardens 
where conifers speoially flourish, but nothing is 
said of how the Uva natives appreciate the plants 
grown for them. The year was excessively wet, 
142 48 inches of rain having fallen, of which 87 74 
came in the last quarter, October showing no less 
than 41-67 inches. Badulla has been visited by 
heavy rainstorms in 1892 also. — Dr, Trimen's notes 
on eoonomio plants are, as usual, valuable and 
suggestive. He rightly attributes the defective 
quality of Ceylon tea in 1891 to the excessive 
rainfall. From his report alone we learn that 
helopeltis has done little damage on lowoountry estates. 
In India and Java, the insect is a formidable pest. 
Dr. Trimen is of opinion as a result of his visit 
to Java that the oultivation of Liberian coliee 
was too hastily abandoned in Ceylon. There were 
two reasons; the fungus was prevalent and injuri- 
ous in proportion to the size of the leaves, and 
the proportion of skin to fruit was great and 
pulping very difficult. Prices also were not so 
good as they now are. As to cinchona, the real 
advantage of Java is the possession of the high 
quality species, G. Icdgcriana. Dr. Trimen remains 
ot opinion that the high prices paid for Ceylon 
cacao is due simply to the superior treatment of 
the beans by our planters. Government are trying 
experiments with indiarubber trees, and Dr. Trimen 
gives an interesting aocount of tho oultivation 
and preparation of gambler in Singapore. On this 
Bubjcot Mr, Ridley has prepared a most exbaastive 
