JACK'S LETTERS TO WALLICH, 1819-1821. 199 



describe the inflorescence ; the scrawl on the margin will give an 



idea. The pedicels are irregularly fascicled on the summit of the 

 peduncle, and all the flowers turn one way and are bent at an 

 angle to the pedicel. Would " pedunc : axillaribus floribus cristato 

 f asciculatis secundis " do ? Are your Didymocarpi alternif olious 

 or oppositif olious ? I have species both ways. I have a great 

 mind to bring this genus into my grand fascicle, with a drawing 

 of D, frutescens 193 and characters of the others. Fagrsea racemosa 

 would also deserve a place. 



The people in the interior of Tappanooly are Battus, and we 

 were curious to ascertain whether they were really cannibals as 

 has been represented : our inquiries have placed the fact beyond a 

 doubt, and the circumstances attending the practice are such as 

 I am almost afraid to mention, as they are scarcely to be credited. 

 It appears that by the Battu laws, the capital punishment ordained 

 for certain crimes is to be eaten, and the execution of the sentence 

 is the occasion of a grand feast. But the most horrible part of 

 the story is, that the prisoner is actually eaten alive, and has the 



193. Described in the Malayan Miscellanies, i. part 5 (1820) p. 5. 

 R. A. Soc, No. 73, 1916. 



