THE CHINESE RICE-PAPER PLANT. 51 
and truly that of the Rice-paper plant: it shows that the drawings 
&, above alluded to are a hoax upon Europeans (one of many which these 
*, rogues have to account for); and it proves that the drawing referred to 
J at p. 29 of Vol. IL, in the possession of John Reeves, Esq., is a faithful 
‘f one, as far as it goes, of the true plant. 
The researches of Mrs. Layton and others all tend to show that the 
plant is exclusively a native of the island of Formosa. “As far as I 
could learn," this lady says, “it is only really known to grow in the 
deep swampy forests of the north of Formosa, though said in books to 
be found, in these later years, in one other part of China and formerly 
in many, One thing is certain, that all the Rice-paper met with in 
Fokien and the south is pith from the island Hu-nan, or Ho-nan (as 
the Amoy people call it),—Formosa. The tree must grow there to a 
good size, for I was again and again informed I could not well have a 
‘tree’ brought over, as it would be too large to manage on the way. 
Great danger and risk attend the men who go into the forests to pro- 
eure the stems, where the aborigines come suddenly upon them and 
take away their lives: so that it is customary to have a guard of 
soldiers on the occasion. At one time it seemed quite certain that my 
efforts to procure a plant would have been supported by all the man- 
darin force on that part of the island, for the late brave old Chinese 
admiral at Amoy took the matter in hand for me, and sent orders for 
one to be obtained, and sent back in one of the imperial junks employed 
to take troops to Formosa; but before it could reach me he was dead. 
I did not, myself, bring home with me the dead and withered specimen 
you received, for it did not reach Amoy iu time: but I had arranged 
with a friend to take charge of it, who unfortunately forwarded it to 
me by way of the Cape instead of sending it overland: for, indeed, it 
had already been several months in the case in China. One of the two 
Chinamen, whom I had long before sent over in a junk for the purpose, 
returned with a small root when I was too ill to take care of it; but it — 
had several green leaves when I took it with me on board ship for — = 
England, and this was I think entirely killed by the brown ants. The — 
man who obtained this, assured me that the ‘large tree’ he procured 
had died while he waited for à junk, and then after putting out to sea, 
and being driven back by pirates, he threw the plant overboard, re- — 
serving a portion of the stem and some leaves, which I have now in my 
possession, The second messenger returned soon after my departure, 
