Ɛpsilon

From P. H. Gosse   13 July 1863

Sandhurst. Torquay

July 13. 1863.

My dear Sir

I had not forgotten your former request about Ophrys apif.1 & having little time for searching, myself, I had put my young son into the service, who in his walks has collected me a few specimens.2 The results are as follows:—

Of 16 plants, 32 flowers were open: of these No. 1, with two fl. had the lower flower with one pollinium attached to stigma, the other poll. quite removed:—the upper flower had both poll. removed, but several of the cuneate pollen-masses were adherent to stigma. No trace of slugs or of gnawing visible on the plant.

No. 2, one fl. open; both pollinia removed, & no trace left. Upper sepal slightly gnawed: no trace of slugs.

No. 3— two fl. open, of which one had one pollinium removed: the other adherent to stigma

Thus out of the 32 flowers, two had lost both pollinia, & two had lost one each.3

I know not whether an experiment I tried has any value; it was to see if the wind were an agent in making the poll. come into contact with the stigma. Pollinia just escaped from anther cells, & still hanging unattached, I blew with my breath fitfully & strongly & in various directions; after many efforts I caused the poll. thus to adhere; & that in several instances.4

This is all I have been able to do in response to your first request.

On Saturday, after receiving your favour,5 I immediately went down to Petit Tor, where on former occasions we have found the Bee Ophrys; & spent some time in searching; but perhaps from the flowering being nearly over, & so the plants being inconspicuous in the rank herbage,—I could find but two plants. Each of these had one well-swollen ovary, & one recently opened flower— In each case the former showed both poll. adherent to stigma; the latter had the poll. still in the anther cells.

I will, however, pursue the search further; seeking plants in the slopes you mention, & other known habitats.

Will you be so good as to tell me whether you have a good collection of Orchids, & whether you have much in flower just now.

Believe me, dear Sir | Yours very truly | P. H. Gosse

Ch. Darwin Esqe

CD annotations

6.1 I know … request. 7.1] crossed pencil
9.1 I will … Gosse 11.1] crossed pencil
Top of letter: ‘Bee ’Ophrys’ ink
1
CD had asked Gosse to observe whether insects ever removed pollinia from the bee ophrys, Ophrys apifera (see letter to P. H. Gosse, 2 June [1863] and nn. 12 and 13).
2
Edmund William Gosse was 13 years old.
3
Gosse’s observations were not included in the revised account of Ophrys apifera that appeared in the second edition of Orchids, pp. 52–9; however, CD observed (p. 55): From what I had … seen of other Orchids, I was so much surprised at the self-fertilisation of this species, that I examined during many years, and asked others to examine, the state of the pollen-masses in many hundreds of flowers, collected in various parts of England. For CD’s own observations of this species in 1863, see the notes, dated 9 July – 25 August, in DAR 70: 53–5 and 57.
4
CD had described observations similar to these in Orchids, pp. 64–5.
5
CD’s letter has not been found.

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-4240,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-4240