Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 67.djvu/595

Rh eventually covers a great area. A whole avenue of such trees is to be seen at Buitenzorg. The trees are the 'waringen' a sort of banyan, and the avenue is called the 'Waringen Alle.' Other trees, such as the India rubber plant, have the same habit of putting forth aerial roots which grow down and penetrate the soil and eventually cause a wide spreading of the tree.

A short magazine article can not bring the reader very close to tropical plant life as shown in the Buitenzorg garden, but the illustrations may help to make clear some of the features I have mentioned. It must be understood that the gardens are maintained primarily for scientific purposes and that there are countless objects, interesting to the botanist, the enumeration of which would be wearisome to the general reader.

It is the wish of the director of the gardens that botanists from all countries should make use of the garden for study. At his suggestion the government erected some years ago a commodious laboratory for the exclusive use of visiting men of science. Naturally enough, since Java is a Dutch dependency, most of the visitors thus far have come from Holland, but many Germans have also been there. Almost no Americans have studied in Buitenzorg. This is the more strange, since our botanists are accustomed to travel long distances and many have worked in Europe. With the increased importance of the tropics which has come in recent years, there should be a greater interest developed in the study of tropical life. It is much to be desired that our own botanists make use of this and other tropical gardens in order that we may not remain behind other nations in this important branch of natural science.