WCP5349

[1]

Down Bromley Kent

Nov. 25^th [1861]¹

My dear Hooker

I fear that there is no chance of an Acropera ^{of either species} or its ovarium still remaining on y your plants. You will remember about the mouth of the stigmatic cavity being so small; & your own remark about the stigma not being viscid, which I noticed, but like an incredible ass did not look closely at. It occurred to me that ^{the species of} Acropera may be ^the males of ^{some other orchid} (like Catasetum ^{& Myanthus}) & I have just looked at an ovarium in spirits & I can see no trace of ovules! Unfortunately [2] I cut the ovarium rather short when I put 3 flowers in spirits; & this makes me want a perfect ovarium, & a flower for ^fresh stigmatic tissue. I sh[oul]^d like to get over this opprobrium to my work ^{on fertilisation2}; of course I must look to ovaria of other unfertilised orchids & see how plain ovules are: my memory makes me think that they are plain.—

I have looked to Link³ on ducts in Orchids, & he trusted only to transverse sections & I am sure very falsely contradicts R[obert] Brown⁴.— What you said about Brown having observed [3] the ducts running wrong in Habenaria is very likely (though he ought to have said so) but then he does apparently trust to position of ducts as far as he traced them by transverse sections. I hope in a day or two to attack Bonatea.—

I was much pleased & interested in your remarks on the Primula case:⁵ but I cannot remember whether you gave any additional cases of dimorphism; if you did, please tell me again. A rather tall man with upturned eyebrows, told me that Weddell⁶ says that Cinchona presents the two forms.—

[4]

I went to B[ritish]. Mus[eum]. & saw a few of Bates’⁷ "mimetic" butterflies & they are truly wonderful: He ought to have a coloured plate; I told him I would give ^£10 towards it, but I fear a coloured plate would cost much more.— What a pity that this man sh[oul]^d have to work for his daily bread & have only 1 or 2 hours for science; but I do not see what can be done. He speaks with admiration of Wallace’s talents, energy & knowledge.—

Here is a good joke; I saw an extract from Lecoq. Geograph[ie]. Bot[anique.]⁸ & ordered it & hoped that it was a good sized pamphlet & my God nine thick volumes have arrived!—

My dear old Hooker | Your affect[ionate] | C. Darwin [signature]

[5]

P.S. Do you ^{(or Oliver)9} know whether in males of such plants, as the male of Lychnis dioica, whether there are rudimentary ovules in the ovarium?

I shall be so glad to see the living Bolbophyllum rhizophora is this spelt right? it is not in Steudel[.]^{10, 11}