132 
planned bringing out something at Ben- 
coolen. He proposes sending home these 
Pitcher Plants, that such splendid things 
may appear under all the advantages of 
elegant execution, by way of attracting at- 
tention to the subject of Sumatran Botany. 
There is a plant which Sir S. has met with 
in Sumatra, which appears to be the won- 
der of the vegetable world,! for its flowers 
are of the colossal dimensions of a yard in 
diameter! I would hardly venture to men- 
tion this, did I not know that a specimen 
has actually gone home in spirits. We 
made a sailing expedition lately among the 
islands, and spent the day very pleasantly 
in exploring them ; we carried our provi- 
sions with us, and spread our table in the 
woods, protected from the sun by the dense 
shade. ere I saw, for the first time, the 
coral banks of tropical seas in perfection, 
and nothing certainly can be more beauti- 
ful. The water was as clear as crystal, and 
through it appeared the corals in every va- 
riety of form and colour, their hues soft- 
ened and heightened by the transparent 
medium. These banks frequently rise al- 
most perpendicularly from unknown depths 
to the surface, the stupendous works of 
animals that almost elude observation. It 
is also a curious question whence is de- 
rived the enormous quantity of lime thus 
deposited." 
Bencoolen, Sept. 28th, 1819.—* I have 
been employed in an important subject, 
which Sir S. has entrusted to me, namely, 
! Raflesia Arnoldi of Brown, in the 13th Vol. of 
the Transactions of the Linnzan Society, where we 
scarcely know “which to admire most, the admirable 
execution of the plates, the learning displayed by the 
author in his history and description, or the extraor- 
dinary plant which is the subject of the memoir. An- 
other species, R. fu yoga a nearly allied Genus, 
Brugmansia, h d in Java, by Dr. Blume, 
g who bui caaititudad for them a new order, Rhizant. 
.. so called because tbe plant consists solely of a flower 
springing directly from the root of another plant, on 
crophylla, the Pilostyles Berteroi of Guillemin in = 
Annales des oo ees, 2nd Ser. v. 2. p.2 
t. 1. ; and this is so minute o bear the sam Eius 
portion to te type ofthe Order (I Arnoldit) that a 
line does to a foot. 
MEMOIR OF THE LATE MR. WILLIAM JACK. 
an inquiry into the state of society among 
the people subject to Bencoolen, particu- 
larly into their laws and customs, and the 
effects of the Company’s monopoly on their 
character and situation, with a view to 
furnishing data whereon to found eventual 
measures for their improvement. This you 
may conceive will be a task of some diffi- 
culty, especially as I come to it unprepared 
by local experience, but Sir Stamford is so 
determined upon it, and affords me such 
advice and encouragement, that his kind- 
ness, together with the knowledge that he 
may turn the result of my inquiries to im- 
portant use, has decided me to do my best, 
especially as I see that there is no other 
person who either can or will attempt it. 
** To give me every possible aid, and to 
add importance to the undertaking, Sir S. 
has appointed two gentlemen to form a 
committee with me for this object—one of 
them is Captain Methwin, Malay translator, 
whose thorough knowledge of the language 
is of the greatest use to me; still the great- 
est share of the labour devolves upon my- 
self. The subject is really a curious one, 
and exhibits a different form of society 
from almost every other that I know." 
On board the Favourite, in the Hoogly, 
Bengal, Nov. 17th, 1819.—* When I left 
Bencoolen, the Report on the state of So- 
ciety was not begun, though I had been 
collecting the materials for it :* before sail- 
ing, our Committee met, and my two col- 
leagues gave me carte blanche to draw up 
what report I thought proper during the 
voyage. I have accordingly prepared one, 
ium I call our First Report, and as there 
some points of detail, particularly on 
à subject of cag which would 
only have embarrassed the general view, 
and would come better us an Appendi 
or Supplementary Report, I have taken up 
the subject in its widest field, and have 
. brought in a view of the Colonian Admi- 
nistration of the place. Sir Stamford is 
well pleased with the result of my labours, 
* and has forwarded it to asinus with à 
Mam recommendation, and 
the Marquis's attention to it. He 
soliciting Le 
will 
de OREL 
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