show of trees, shrubs, and flowering plants, ferns and
orchids, and a charming border-edging of lilac Plumbago
(Statice armeria) ; indeed, owing to its situation
within the tropics, combined with an elevation which
gives it a temperate climate, Mysore boasts of an
uncommonly rich and varied flora. At a flower show
held during my stay, there was a splendid collection
of variegated leaves of the genus Croton and Caladium,
and fine specimens of the bright red Poinsettia and
Amaranthus. As for creepers and climbers, I do not
think even Ceylon produces a greater variety: there
was the Thunbergia laurifolia, and the Bougainvillea
spectabilis, both purple ;—the Acanthus (hexacentris)
rosea, flower fox-brown, growing in spikes :—the pink
Antigonon;—the blue Jack Beaumontia;—the Bignonia
venusta, a cluster of pale-amber pendants ;—the scarlet
Pyvoria;—the yellow Bonetia /Sf-half-a-dozen kinds
of Passiflora; and I might add scores of others of
equally great beauty. The Sebestan plum (Cordia
sebestina), grows here to great perfection; it is a
handsome pyramidal tree, eight to twelve feet high,
producing bunches of opaque-amber coloured flowers;—
the Hibiscus syriacus, white corolla with purple centre;
also the Alamanda grandiflora, sometimes seen in
green-houses in England, a shrub with large yellow,
funnel-shaped flowers ;—the Jxora butea;—the elegant
Indian rubber tree (Ficus elastica) with its thick, glossy
leaves;—the Exile tree (Thevetia neriifolia) of the Caoutchouc
family, a tall tree of bright pale green foliage,
its grass-like leaves gracefully hanging down, h lafrange
d’¿paulette, and full of milky juice ; its yellow flowers
of periwinkle shape, and its fruit, smooth greenish
balls, nearly an inch in diameter—and hundreds of
others. Mr. Cameron kindly made up a parcel of seeds
for me, some forty different creepers, many of which
are now flourishing in a garden near Florence.
No town in India, not even excepting Lucknow,
had pleased me as much as Bangalore, and being in
no hurry whatever to return to Europe I decided
upon remaining here for the next few months, and
taking a trip to the Neilgherries during the hot season,
in order to see them in all their natural and social
charms, besides escaping the South-westerly monsoon,
which makes travelling almost an impossibility in
the Mysore hills, rivers and ghauts then becoming
impassible. I found little difficulty in securing a comfortable
bungalow, near the La.l-bagh, at the moderate
rent of seventy-five rupees per month, and Abdel
Khader, of the tribe of Israel, and a well-known furnisher,
for another twenty-five rupees supplied not only
elegant and good furniture, but also every requisite