56 GREAT FLOWER, RAFFLE'siA. 



been discovered. It was found in the island of 

 Sumatra, in the year 1818, by Dr. Joseph Arnold, 

 who gives this account of his discovery, in a letter 

 to one of his friends : 



" Here, at Pulo Lebbar, on the Manna river, 

 " I rejoice to tell you, I happened to meet with 

 '" what I consider as the greatest prodigy of the 

 " vegetable world. I had ventured some way from 

 " the party, when one of the Malay servants came 

 " running to me with wonder in his eyes, and said, 

 " c Come w r ith me, sir, come ! a flower, very large, 

 " 'beautiful, wonderful !' I immediately went with 

 " the man about a hundred yards in the jungle" 

 (this name is given in India to wild bushy under- 

 wood), " and he pointed to a flower growing close 

 " to the ground, under the bushes, which was 

 " truly astonishing. My first impulse was to cut 

 " it up, and carry it to the hut. I therefore 

 " seized the Malay's parang, a sort of instrument 

 " like a woodman's chopping hook, and finding 

 " that it sprang from a small root which ran hori- 

 " zontally, about as large as two fingers, or a little 

 " more, I soon detached it, and removed it to our 

 " hut. To tell you the truth, had I been alone, 

 " and had there been no witnesses, I should, I 

 " think, have been fearful of mentioning the size 

 " of this flower, so much does it exceed every 

 " flower I have ever seen or heard of; but I had 

 " Sir Stamford and Lady Raffles with me. 



