nding that it has a number of
endemic species, and a few genera, which are not found on the great
Indian peninsula, still its botanical features may be described as those
characteristic of the southern regions of Hindustan and the Dekkan. The
result of some recent experiments has, however, afforded a curious
confirmation of the opinion ventured by Dr. Gardner, that, regarding its
botany geographically, Ceylon exhibits more of the Malayan flora and
that of the Eastern Archipelago, than of any portion of India to the
west of it. Two plants peculiar to Malacca, the nutmeg and the
mangustin, have been attempted, but unsuccessfully, to be cultivated in
Bengal; but in Ceylon the former has been reared near Colombo with such
singular success that its produce now begins to figure in the exports of
the island;--and mangustins, which, ten years ago, were exhibited as
curiosities from a single tree in the old Botanic Garden at Colombo, are
found to thrive readily, and they occasionally appear at table,
rivalling in their wonderful delicacy of flavour those which have
heretofore been regarded as peculiar to the Straits.

[Footnote 1: The prolific vegetation of the island is likely to cause
exaggeration in the estimate of its variety. Dr. Gardner, shortly after
his appointment as superintendent of the Botanic Garden at Kandy, in
writing to Sir W. Hooker, conjectured that the Ceylon flora might extend
to 4000 or 5000 species. But from a recent _Report_ of the present
curator, Mr. Thwaites, it appears that the indigenous phaenogamic plants
discovered up to August, 1856, was 2670; of which 2025 were
dicotyledonous, and 644 monocotyledonous flowering plants, besides 247
ferns and lycopods. When it is considered that this is nearly double the
indigenous flora of England, and little under _one thirtieth_ of the
entire number of plants hitherto described over the world, the botanical
richness of Ceylon, in proportion to its area, must be regarded as equal
to that of any portion of the globe.]

Up to the present time the botany of Ceylon has been imperfectly
submitted to scientific scrutiny. Linnaeus, in 1747, prepared his _Flora
Zeylanica_, from specimens collected by Hermann, which had previously
constituted the materials of the _Thesaurus Zeylanicus_ of Burman and
now form part of the herbarium in the British Museum. A succession of
industrious explorers have been since engaged in following up the
investigation[1]; but, with the excepti