18431862] HOMOLOGIES 279 



Looking to your note, I may add that certainly the fifteen Letter 606 

 alternating bundles of spiral vessels (mingled with odd bead- 

 like vessels in some cases) are present in many orchids. The 

 inner whorl of anther ducts are oftenest aborted. I must 

 keep clear of Apostasia^ though I have cast many a longing 

 look at it in Bauer. 



I hope I may be well enough to read my own paper 2 on 

 Thursday, but I have been very seedy lately. I see there is 

 a paper at the Royal on the same night, which will more 

 concern you, on fossil plants of Bovey, 3 so that I suppose I 

 shall not have you ; but you must read my paper when 

 published, as I shall very much like to hear what you think. 

 It seems to me a large field for experiment. I shall make 

 use of my Orchid little volume in illustrating modification 

 of species doctrine, but I keep very, very doubtful whether 

 I am not doing a foolish action in publishing. How I wish 

 you would keep to your old intention and write a book on 

 plants. 4 



To G. Bentham. Letter 607 



Down, Nov. 26th [1861]. 



Our notes have crossed on the road. I know it is an 

 honour to have a paper in the Transactions, and I am much 

 obliged to you for proposing it, but I should greatly prefer to 

 publish in the Journal. Nor does this apply exclusively 

 to myself, for in old days at the Geological Society I always 

 protested against an abstract appearing when the paper itself 

 might appear. I abominate also the waste of time (and it 

 would take me a day) in making an abstract. If the referee 

 on my paper should recommend it to appear in the Trans- 

 actions, will you be so kind as to lay my earnest request before 

 the Council that it may be permitted to appear in ihejourna/? 



1 Apostasia has two fertile anthers like Cypripedium. It is placed 

 by Engler and Prantl in the Apostasieae or Apostasiinae, among the 

 Orchideas, by others in a distinct but closely allied group. 



1 " On the Two Forms, or Dimorphic Condition, in the Species of the 

 Genus Primula" Linn. Soc. Journ., 1862. He did read the paper, but 

 it cost him the next day in bed. Life and Letters, III., p. 299. 



3 Oswald Heer, "The Fossil Flora of Bovey Tracey," Phil. Trans. 

 R. Soc. 1862, p. 1039. 



4 Possibly a book similar to that described in Letter 696. 



