ch. xvi.J FERTILISATION OF FLOWERS. 323 



He wrote also to Dr. Gray, June 8, 1800 : 



" Talking of adaptation, I have lately been looking at 

 our common orchids, and I dare say the facts are as old 

 and well-known as the hills, but I have been so struck with 

 admiration at the contrivances, that I have sent a notice to 

 the Gardeners' Chronicle.'''' 



Besides attending to the fertilisation of the flowers he 

 was already, in 1860, busy with the homologies of the parts, 

 a subject of which he made good use in the Orchid book. 

 He wrote to Sir Joseph Hooker (July) : 



" It is a real good joke my discussing homologies of 

 Orchids with you, after examining only three or four genera ; 

 and this very fact makes me feel positive I am right ! I do 

 not quite understand some of your terms ; but sometime I 

 must get you to explain the homologies ; for I am intensely 

 interested in the subject, just as at a game of chess." 



This work was valuable from a systematic point of view. 

 In 1880 he wrote to Mr. Bentham : 



" It was very kind in you to write to me about the 

 Orchideae, for it has pleased me to an extreme degree that I 

 could have been of the least use to you about the nature of 

 the parts." 



The pleasure which his early observations on Orchids 

 gave him is shown in such passages as the following from a 

 letter to Sir J. D. Hooker (July 27, 1861) : 



" You cannot conceive how the Orchids have delighted 

 me. They came safe, but box rather smashed ; cylindrical 

 old cocoa- or snuff-canister much safer. I enclose postage. 

 As an account of the movement, I shall allude to what I 

 suppose is Oncidium, to make certain^ is the enclosed 

 flower with crumpled petals this genus ? Also I most spe- 

 cially want to know what the enclosed little globular brown 

 Orchid is. I have only seen pollen of a Cattleya on a bee, 

 but surely have you not unintentionally sent me what I 

 wanted most (after Catasetum or Mormodes), viz., one of 

 the Epidendrese? ! I particularly want (and will presently 

 tell you why) another spike of this little Orchid, with older 

 flowers, some even almost withered." 



His delight in observation is again shown in a letter to 

 Dr. Gray (1863). Kef erring to Criiger's letters from Trini- 

 dad, he wrote : " Happy man, heJias actually seen crowds 

 of bees flying round Catasetum, with the pollinia sticking 

 to their backs ! " 



The following extracts of letters to Sir J. D. Hooker 



