182 JACK'S LETTERS TO WALLICH, 1819-1821. 



ceeded to the Straits of Banca, where our progress was very slow, 

 the monsoon heing against us. I had not once an opportunity of 

 landing again till we arrived here, although we were always in 

 sight of and often very near the land. From the Straits of Sun da 

 our passage was good, the same wind which had before opposed us, 

 being then in our favour. The track we pursued was a very un- 

 usual one at this season, and one that many people would have 

 pronounced impracticable. I have been as you may suppose, very 

 busy since I arrived, and am hardly yet quite settled and got into 

 regular train. Unfortunately I was far from well during the lat- 

 ter part of the voyage and for a fortnight after my arrival, which 

 rather retarded my labours. I have not yet got through the 

 arrangement of the piles of specimens I brought with me. I am 

 very anxious to have your letters with observations on the speci- 

 mens sent you. Those I have already received are invaluable, and 

 have given me much new light on several points, on which I shall 

 enter presently. A new field seems to open here, for of all that 

 has yet been brought in, very few indeed are acquaintances. 

 Optime amice mihi, what do you think of specimens of the flower* 

 of the Camphor, 12 '* from which 1 have made an excellent drawing? 

 Is not that an admirable beginning ! ! It belongs to Monadelphia 

 polyandria : calyce 5-partito : cor. 5-petala : ovario triloculare 6- 

 sporo, stylo filiformi stain, longiore: antherae longae circa stylum 

 conniventes. 



As there is not at present any direct opportunity to Bengal, 

 (this goes via Penang) I cannot send any parcels, but I cannot 

 deny myself the pleasure of enclosing a sprig of that great desider- 

 atum, which has so long bloomed in vain and " wasted its fragrance 

 on the desert air." 



By the bye I should have mentioned that the box of paper and 

 wax cloth is as good as arrived, for though not yet in my possession 

 Capt. Bowman has told me of it, and promises to land it in a day 

 or two. You mention that it is blotting paper, I am sorry there- 

 fore, as I prefer the country paper, on a comparative trial of the 

 two ; I ought to have mentioned this to you before, and do it now 

 for your information in future. The dry coarse rather stiff paper 

 appears to answer best, such as, what I shall make the cover of 

 this letter of. Allow me to make my acknowledgements for your 

 and Mrs. Walliclr's kindness in so readily agreeing to incur the 



123. Cn page 149 of Marsden's History of Sumatra (third edition, 

 London, 1811), there is given the then-existing information in regard to 

 the Malayan Camphor-tree. The leaf is described and the habit of the 

 tree : Gartner 's figure of the fruit, and an engraving of the foliage made 

 for Lambert are referred to: but the flower had "not yet been brought 

 to England. ' ' In the twelfth volume of the Asiatick Researches Colebrooke 

 described the fruit, together with an excellent figure of leaves, fruit and 

 seed (1816, p. 539 and appendix p. 3). 



With attention directed to the need, in 1819 Mr. Prince, whose name 

 occurs in these letters, sent flowers to Baffles from Tappanouly. 



Jour. Straits Branch 



