DEVELOPMENT OF THE FRUIT. 
- The splendour of the flower is an ephemeral feature. On the 
third day already the lobes are hanging down to the ground, 
lacking in tone, and the colour is growing darker, and after a 
week the whole flower is almost black. At this time generally 
fissures have been formed in the perigoneal tube, and after a 
couple of weeks the whole perigony is a decaying mass lying 
on the ground. Before it gets so far, the cavity of the tube © 
was in most cases filled with rain water, soon assuming a very 
dark colour like that of strong tea mixed with red wine, which 
colour is due to matter extracted from the tissues of the flower. © 
Notwithstanding the presence of this matter the mosquitoes 
use the reservoirs as breading places, and the dark fluid gene- 
rally swarms with larvae. 
_ The column however of the female flower retains its vitality 
for a very long time, differing from the male flower, which 
undergoes a very quick process of decay, its anthers probably 
not being able to provide useful pollen after the expiration of 
the first two weeks, very soon after which time the whole 
flower perishes. Not so the female flower, In the growing place B 
I found more than 20 female columns, most of which obviously 
were several weeks or months old. They all had a very decaying 
external aspect, but inspection of the interior in all cases revea- 
led, that it was perfectly fresh and healthy. Though the buds 
were so numerous here and so many flowers had reached ma- 
turity, not one of them was of the male sex. Obviously the 
parasite growing here, was not able to produce male buds, a 
proof that the Rajflesia is a dioecious plant. The female flowers 
there for all remained unfertilized, but still they were waiting, 
probably for several months for a possible fertilisation, before 
they had to give up and die '). 
On the growing place E on the contrary there seemed to 
1) In future possibly male flowers will be produced in this growing place. On 
17/4 20 I deposited there half a fruit, containing ripe seeds, it carried away from 
growing place D, and after a couple of days I found all seeds gone (see later). 
