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A GIGANTIC FLOWER. 131
" Well, then, if you are so unbelieving," replied Lewis, " ask papa ; I suppose you can trust him."
Mr. Ashton happened to have in his pocket, the number of the Penny Magazine which contained an ac-count of this curious plant; and he read it to the wondering Helen :—
"In 1818, Doctor Arnold discovered, in the island of Sumatra, a flower which he named Rqfflesia Arnoldi; and which an author has called with much justice, ' the magnificent Titan of the vegetable kingdom.' The human mind, indeed, had never conceived such a flower : the circumference of the full-expanded flower is nine feet, its nectarium is calculated to hold nine pints, the pistils are as large as cows'-horns, and |
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