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[Page 5]
if you have an opportunity of visiting the small Islands on the Coast of China near to Macao you will find there abundance of the very Curious plant called Nepenthes distillatoria it is known to the Chinese by the name which signifies Pig-Basket-Plant from the Resemblance of its leave to the wicker machine in which the Carcase of a Dead Pig is Generaly Carried, suspended on a Pole between two men, this which is one of the most Extrordinary Plants of the Creation has once been brought alive to England & Lived several years in Kew Garden if it can be procured & Planted in the Plant Cabbins there will be little doubt of its success & I may add that few indeed are the Exotics so desirable for the Royal Gardens as this Plant certainly is
I scarce need hint to you the Propriety of Preserving the Fructification of all such Plants as are difficult to examine when Dried in Spirits Especialy the orchid This Precaution will Ensure to you the blessing of all Botanists who may be calld upon to assist you in arranging the Treasures you are likely to Collect on your Journey after your Return to Europe
The value of manure seems to be much better understood in China than in England nothing in that Country that can Promote Fertility is sufferd to be wasted The manure of the City of Pekin calld by the French Poudrette is carefully collected & it is Possible that the increased Produce obtaind by the use of that article maintains ¼ of the inhabitants of that City