TMP TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
[August i, i'^qo. 
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nifioent Solandra oppositifoHa. On the summits of 
these hills are found beautiful and rare plants — 
Begonias, Martjnias, Didymocarpus, Aginetia, Acro- 
trssma, delight in the cold and shady precipices. 
The Betle-Palm is here exchanged for a Oaryota 
bristling with thorns. On reference to a map it 
will be observed that the ridge of bills, between 
Kandy and Gampola extends towards Eambodda so 
that most of the vegetation passed in travelling to 
Bambodda may be observed in a couple of hours’ 
walk from Kandy to the top of its highest hills, 
which have nearly an elevation equal to that of 
Eambodda. Table 9 will however add a few other 
particulars, and leaves us now to comment upon the 
colder portions of the Island or its highest mountains, 
in which examples are given of theNuwera-Ellia Flora 
in Table 6 and theFlora of Adam’s Peak in Table 7. 
The Nuwera-Ellia country is a series of small 
plains, surrounded by hills and mountains thickly 
clothed with jungle to the very summit. Its eleva- 
tion above the level of the sea is about 6000 feet. 
Its highest mountain — the Pedro-talle-galla, rises to 
8000 feet. Its soil is very black and turfy in the 
plain, being either marshy or reclaimed marsh — The 
slopes of the hills turn into meadow land. Before 
reaching the jungle, a curiously disposed and natural 
hedge of shrubs intervenes — it extends with great 
regularity, and is a very peculiar feature in the 
country. It were erroneous to suppose that either 
the climate or productions of Nuwera-Ellia are 
European — but it is our alpine tract and in losing 
the Palm, the Cinnamon and a thousand of the 
ornamental trees and shrubs of the Coast, we forget 
the tropics. In Europe, the gradations of Winter 
and Summer have a most powerful effect on the 
system of all perennials. In Winter the leaves fall 
— the tree is denuded of all its ornaments. In the 
mass of vegetation, the sap refuses to flow until the 
genial return of spring : the woody tissues harden 
and give rise to those concentric rings or zones, by 
which the Carpenter can calculate the age of his 
timber. But as Summer advances, the sap returning 
induces a fresh growth and the formation of flowers 
and fruit — The absence of a well defined winter is 
therefore the great difference between Nuwera-Ellia, 
and our native land, and a simple answer to the 
query, Why do not the large Cherry trees of its 
gardens produce fruit ? In vain do we look for a 
single tree (unless introduced) of genera indigenous 
to our English climate : the trees, although not those 
of the Coast, are still those of the tropics — they are 
however of hardier growth, usually evergreen and 
adapted to our Alpine region, where frost excludes 
delicate species and the sun rarely shines except 
during the earlier months of the year. Analogy from 
such inferences leads us to expect the annuals of 
our Summer which die during the Winter season 
and the plants of our marshes, and accordingly I 
have to mention genera familiar to the British Bo- 
tanist intermixed with Alpine Indian Hants. The 
sweet little Hairbell is perhaps as grateful to us from 
association as the curling smoke of cottages rising 
over the jungle. The European genera are Andro- 
meda, Vaccinium, Ranunculus, Thalictrum, Ane- 
mone, Viola, Rubus, Frograria, Berberis, Scutellaria, 
Lysimachia, Polygonatum, Plantago, Lobelia, Cyno- 
gloBBum, Alchemillea, Rhododendron, Magnolia, 
Potentilla, Ilyporioum, Impatiens, Monotropa, Neot- 
tia. Orchids, Drosera, Dipsacus, Valleriana, Utricu- 
laria. Campanula, Tradescantia, Oxalis, Poly gala, 
Gnaphalium, Rhinanthus, Euphorbia and some 
others— most of which have species growing in Great 
Britain. The character is scarcely Hymelayan, but 
I am inclined to believe that its Flora accords so 
closely to the tract of land on the Neilgherries that 
throe-fourthB of either would contain the same spe- 
cies. We have not their rose it is true, which is 
described as very beautiful festooning trees, but in 
either the Rhododendron nobile forms the ornament 
of the plains. From the elevated portions of Java 
there seems to be a marked diflerence in the absence 
of Oaks and Chestnuts and of course of various 
other productions. 
The Plains of Nuwera-Ellia are very destitute 
of trees with exception of the Rhododendron. It 
is very beautiful when it flowers from May to 
July — the scarlet blossoms are relieved by the 
brow'n inside the bell of the Corolla and by the 
silvery undersides of the stem leaves — at other 
seasons it is a dingy tree like the Apple in height, 
with crooked knotted trunk, varying from 10 to 
16 feet or even 26 and 30. When Arboreta shall 
have been introduced and Villas in Nuwera-Ellia, 
we may expect gardeners to give us many pretty 
shrub varieties of this tree with English species. 
Lord Carnarvon gained a celebrated Mule species 
by fertilising R. Cataubriense with the Himalayan 
sp. R. Arboreum, It retained the flowers and color 
of R. Arboreum and had the leaves and hardiness 
of constitution of R. Cataubriense. 
T have already remarked that S. American species 
of plants became naturalised with great facility in 
the lower tracts of Ceylon — such is the ease at 
Nuwera-Ellia with the productions of New Holland, 
and almost all the other tress of its plains have 
been introduced from that ccuntry by Europeans. 
Of the jungle trees, scarcely any thing i" as yet 
known, but some are doubtless those of the Kandyan 
hills, and of the rest a few, and these good ones 
have been discovered. I was fortunate in finding an 
arboraceous vaccinium — a sp, of agapetes with pink 
flowers. A description of the senus will be found 
in a letter from Dr. Wight to Sir W. Hooker, dated 
Pulney mountains. There is a beautiful tree creeper 
belonging to the Melastomacese, possibly a Medi- 
nilla, Blume ;* the balsams of those hills are cer- 
tainly of 8 or 9 different species, some are of great 
beauty and size, and one species forms the entire 
under sbruhhery of many hills, as w 11 :,s the Nilla, 
which is a didynamious plant. Air-plants and mag- 
nificent ferns abound and dwarf bamboos —on the 
rooks, mosses and from the trees white mosses 
drenching in the drifting storms add to the wintry 
aspect. The Kino tree, both red and white, is much 
used for firewood. I am not acquainted with its 
botanical name. 
Europeans have cultivated several of our English 
vegetables with success, most however requiring to 
be renewed from England or the Cape after some 
years. Potatoes and ('Cabbages are really source of 
profit and of importance to the residents of the 
lower orders. The Cape Gooseberryfnow naturalised) 
makes an excellent tart fruit with the wild Bramble. 
English fruit trees probably require great ears and 
particular mode of culture to produce fruit, hitherto 
retardation of the sap has not been attempted, or if 
so successfully practised, but it seems to be the 
key to success. They should try fruit trees from 
New Holland and New South Wales and the Rasp- 
berry and Gooseberry from England. 
Mr. Stewart Mackenzie judiciously tried the in- 
troduction of the Tea plant I have not heard with 
what suecesB. or what steps hsd been taken to 
insure the climate and locality it is used to. 
From a perusal of Mr. Robinson’s account of the 
Tea plant in Assam, the plant appears to be of 
hardy character with respect to clim-'te. I am in- 
clined to believe that that of the Kandyan hills 
would be very suitable, having very much the Assam 
style of vegrtation — possibly better than Nuwera- 
'* The blaze of ro.se-coloured flfiwers on this creeper 
which always runs up a tree-trunk, forms one of the 
most beautiful sights in our Ceylon jungles. 
—Ed. T. a. 
