108 
CEYLON 
CEYLON. 
Lat. 7° N. 
All the places that I visited in this beautiful island were within 
twenty miles north or south of the seventh parallel of latitude. The 
luxuriance of the vegetation was an immense relief after the parched 
plains of India. At the lower elevations it was more distinctly 
tropical than anything that I had yet seen, but this character was 
lost at greater altitudes. On the beautiful journey up from Colombo, 
we saw a magnificent specimen of the great Talipot Palm (Corypha 
umbraculifera , Linn.) in full flower, it is one of the glories of Ceylon. 
Peradeniya, alt. circa 1200 ft. 
March 10th, 1904. 
The justly celebrated gardens lie about four miles south of Kandy 
near the centre of the island. Their situation, in a bend of the river, 
is beautiful, and all our familiar hot-house plants grow luxuriantly 
in the open air:—splendid Palms of many kinds, some planted in 
solemn avenues, huge Bamboos almost as tall, various species of 
Dracaena, Croton, Acalypha, Maranta ; Nutmeg, Cinnamon, Camphor; 
huge trees of Ficus elastica with roots spreading far over the surface 
of the ground. Grass has been largely ousted by the Sensitive-plant, 
Mimosa pudica, which, introduced from South America, has run wild 
it grows about a foot and half high, and when one walks through it 
a broad path is left owing to the collapse of the leaves. One of the 
most strikingly beautiful things in the gardens is the Giant Bamboo 
from Malaya, Dendrocalamus giganteus, growing in clumps 100 ft. in 
height, which bend gracefully over the waters of the Mahaweli-ganga. 
Here, well out of reach, I saw my first Ornithoptera; truly it is 
well named! 1 A second specimen came down to earth, but I missed 
it through sheer excitement. Several Catopsilia pomona were netted; 
one was a female verging on the catilla form, the others were typical 
males, one of which had a slight scent. Of three male Terias hecabe 
two were wet-season, the other of “ intermediate wet ” form. A male 
T. libythea was also of wet-season type, a female was also taken. 
The only Nymphalids noted were two Neptis eurynome and several 
Precis iphita. Here also I took my first Parantica aglea, Cram. 
(ceylanica , Eeld.), a Danaine found in abundance later. 
1 The name Troides has priority. 
