184 JACK'S LETTEES TO WALLICH, 1819-182L 



very little about preserving male trees, as there are generally a 

 sufficiency of monoecious trees to answer the purpose. 120 



I delivered your letter to Dr. Lumsdaine, 217 with whom I am 

 very good friends, and out of whom I mean to extract all the in- 

 formation that is in him. He is a peculiar character, as I shall 

 have occasion to explain to you more at length hereafter, sus- 

 picious and tenacious, but not difficult to be managed by a little 

 skill. If you see Dr. Smith who carried up my Singapore des- 

 patches, he can give you his character at length, having been with 

 him many years. I was not aware that the Dammar would be 

 so interesting or I could have sent larger supplies from Penang; 

 however T doubt not to procure it here also. 128 The Alpiniae also 

 I expect to find, but did not send them from Penang as from their 

 being in the list of the garden, I supposed they were abundant. I 

 take it there will be found here many new Scitaminese. 1 have 

 one which appears to belong to Hellenia, Br. 12 ". 



On looking over Roxburgh's Coromandel plants a few days 

 ago, I observed the figure of Getonia floribunda 130 which appears 

 to be my plant i\os. 55 and 92. Smith in Rees' Cyc. refers it to 

 Elcmgni, can this be correct? I considered it Combretaceous; it 

 wants however the corolla. The figure in the same work of Sym- 

 phorema involucrata resembles in habit my Xo. 233, 131 but cannot 

 be the same as it has serrate leaves. Can Xo. 232 be a Fagrwa ? 

 I yesterday got a fruit of it, which is a superior berry of two 

 cells and many seeds. If so anne nova? I found the Uncaria 

 Gambir at Singapore and different from all the Penang ones. Is 

 my Bauhinia Xos. 230 and 244 Eoxb.'s ihtegrifoliaf 132 A memo- 

 randum that has fallen in my way makes me think it may. I 

 began a few days ago an examination of the genus Memecylon, 

 which appears to be in a sad confusion, beyond my power to un- 

 ravel. Are not Memecylon echde, Roxb. and M. capitellatum one 



126. Confer Ridley, Spices, (London, 1912), p. 109 where the custom 

 of Chinese owners of uprooting male trees is referred to. 



127. Dr. James Lumsdaine was Assistant Surgeon of Bencoolen. We 

 find his name in the Proceedings of the Agricultural Society, and as a 

 contributor on the Healthiness of Fort Marlborough. We find him with 

 Baffles in Singapore after Jack's death, as a member of a Committee ap- 

 pointed to consider the suitability of the south bank of the Singapore 

 River for occupation (vide this Journal, No. 65, p. 41), and on a Land- 

 Allotment Committee in 1823 (vide Buckley's Anecdotal History, i. p. 79). 

 He retired from Government Service in 1825. What is of most interest in 

 connection with him is that he was one of the first ''natives of India" 

 to be admitted to the service (vide Crawfurd, History of the Indian Medical 

 Service, 1914, i. p. 502). 



128. Agathis loranthifolia ; see note No. 102, p. 177. 



129. i.e. Alpinia. 



130. Getonia floribunda, Roxb., is Calycopteris floribunda, Lamk., of 

 the Combretaceae. Its number suggests that Jack had obtained it in 

 Penang, where it occurs. 



131. Jack's 233 might be Splienode&me pentandra, Jack. 



132. Probably. 



Jour. Straits Branch 



