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known place near the country house of the Resident of Ben- 
koelen (at Kapahiang), 2) a coffeeplantation in Benkoelen, 3) a 
locality near the road to Tapan and 4) a spot near the house 
of a manager on a plantation upon the slope of the volcano 
Talamaoe. 
All these places again show the common feature: nearness 
of inhabited, cultivated or open country. 
Why however should this position be specially favourable for 
the development of the Rafflesia? 
It has been supposed, that the seeds of the Rafflesia fruit 
are carried along and spread in an exo- or endozoic way by 
mammals of some kind. Now it is characteristic of all the men- 
tioned places, where the plant has been found, that they are 
much frequented by wild pigs and other animals, which regu- 
larly in the evening or the night come out from the forest to 
seek their food in the rice fields or other cultivations, or to 
play and dig in the ground on more or less open places. 
Later on, speaking in a more detailed manner about the 
buds, flowers and fruits, observed by me, I will discuss more 
fully the matter of the dispersion of the seeds; here I only 
wish to point out the facts mentioned above and draw the 
attention of the Biologist in this direction. 
DESCRIPTION OF THE FLOWER. 
The description of the Rafflesia flower will here be divided 
into two sections: 
I. The central or axial, sexual region and 
If. The peripheral petaloid portion. 
I. The base of the axial part is formed by the cupula, a flat 
plate, slightly concave on its upper side, having the form of @ 
saucer, sustaining the whole flower. The cupula in fact is no 
essential part of the flower, being formed as we shall sen fur- 
ther on, by the vine root, upon which the parasite is living. 
Its underside is of a very dark brown colour and ornamented 
with a slightly elevated network of a lighter shade. A vertical 
section through it shows a white mass of essentially the same 
