Cuar. XVIII.]} RETURN TO CHINA. 343 
that, if allowed to suck until it was full, it would 
drop off, of its own accord, and leave scarcely a 
mark ; the other species might be taken off with 
impunity. At first, when they fixed themselves 
upon me, which they did through my stockings, I 
set to work to pull them off, without regard to spe- 
cies, although warned by the natives of the impro- 
priety of doing so. In a short time my legs were 
covered with blood, and the wounds annoyed me 
with a kind of itching soreness for several days 
afterwards. 
With the exception of the Orchids, the Phi- 
lippines are not very rich in plants of an orna- 
mental kind. As far as I had an opportunity of 
judging, the vegetation of Luzon bears a great 
resemblance to the island of Java and the other 
parts of the Malay Archipelago. The country is, 
however, very rich in birds and shells, and many 
of the land species of the latter are extremely valu- 
able. Mr. Cuming, who is well known in this part 
of the world, made very large collections of them, 
and has already distributed them over the greater 
part of Europe and America. 
After spending about three weeks in the interior 
of Luzon and having procured a fine supply of the 
beautiful Phalaenopsis, and several other Orchids, 
I returned to the town of Manila, and shipped a 
portion of them to England. These, Iam happy to 
say, arrived in excellent order ; and upon reference 
to the garden-lists on my return, I find that no 
fewer than forty-five specimens of this lovely plant 
z4 
