This section is from the book "The Gardener V2", by William Thomson. Also available from Amazon: The New Organic Grower: A Master's Manual of Tools and Techniques for the Home and Market Gardener.
"We presume that botanists have some reason for assuming that this magnificent, and we may say distinct, pitcher plant is merely a variety of 1ST. Rafflesiana. They are, nevertheless, as distinct as most other Nepenthes; and where a select collection of these interesting plants is desired, the presence of Rafflesiana should never exclude Hookerii, for the latter is to our mind one of the, if not quite the, most interesting pitchers in cultivation. It is a more compact and robust grower than Rafflesiana, and it produces much larger pitchers. Generally on healthy plants they measure about 4 inches by 3 inches. The colouring is very striking, being a light green ground, splashed and spotted with reddish brown. Being of greater substance, the pitchers of this variety last longer than those of Rafflesiana. Their singular-looking hair-fringed frills, extending from the base up each side of the pitcher stalk to their mouth, and the beautifully marked lid, add much to the interesting aspect of the pitcher. N. Hookerii should certainly be in the most limited and select collection of these curious plants, which deserve more attention from possessors of plant-stoves than has hitherto been accorded them.
D. T.
 
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