ch. xvi.] FERTILISATION OF FLOWERS. 325 



" I have been acting, I fear that yon will think, like a 

 goose ; and perhaps in truth I have. When I finished a few 

 days ago my Orchis paper, which turns out one hundred and 

 forty folio pages ! ! and thought of the expense of woodcuts, 

 I said to myself, I will offer the Linnean Society to with- 

 draw it, and publish it in a pamphlet. It then flashed on 

 me that perhaps Murray would publish it, so I gave him a 

 cautious description, and offered to share risks and profits. 

 This morning he writes that he will publish and take all 

 risks, and share profits and pay for all illustrations. It 

 is a risk, and Heaven knows whether it will not be a dead 

 failure, but I have not deceived Murray, and [have] told 

 him that it would interest those alone who cared much for 

 natural history. I hope I do not exaggerate the curiosity of 

 the many special contrivances." 



And again on September 28th : 



" What a good soul you are not to sneer at me, but to 

 pat me on the back. I have the greatest doubt whether I 

 am not going to do, in publishing my paper, a most ridicu- 

 lous thing. It would annoy me much, but only for Mur- 

 ray's sake, if the publication were a dead failure." 



There was still much work to be done, and in October 

 he was still receiving Orchids from Kew, and wrote to 

 Hooker : 



" It is impossible to thank you enough. I was almost 

 mad at the wealth of Orchids." And again 



" Mr. Yeitch most generously has sent me two splendid 

 buds of Mormodes, which will be capital for dissection, but 

 I fear will never be irritable ; so for the sake of charity and 

 love of heaven do, I beseech you, observe what movement 

 takes place in Cychnoches, and what part must be touched. 

 Mr. V. has also sent me one splendid flower of Catasetum, 

 the most wonderful Orchid I have seen." 



On October 13 he wrote to Sir Joseph Hooker : 



" It seems that I cannot exhaust your good nature. I 

 have had the hardest day's work at Catasetum and buds of 

 Mormodes, and believe I understand at last the mechanism 

 of movements and the functions. Catasetum is a beautiful 

 case of slight modification of structure leading to new func- 

 tions. I never was more interested in any subject in all my 

 life than in this of Orchids. I owe very much to you." 



Again to the same friend, November 1, 1861 : 



" If you really can spare another Catasetum, when nearly 

 ready, I shall be most grateful ; had I not better send for 



