284 BOTANY [CHAP. X 



Letter 612 call yourself a stupid dog. You, in fact, thus abuse me, 

 because for long years I have looked up to you as the man 

 whose opinion I have valued more on any scientific subject 

 than any one else in the world. I continually marvel at what 

 you know, and at what you do. I have been looking at the 

 Genera^ and of course cannot judge at all of its real value, 

 but I can judge of the amount of condensed facts under each 

 family and genus. 



I am glad you know my feeling of not being able to judge 

 about one's own work ; but I suspect that you have been 

 overworking. I should think you could not give too much 

 time to Welhvitchia'* (I spell it different every time I write 

 it) ; at least I am sure in the animal kingdom monographs 

 cannot be too long on the osculant groups. 



Hereafter I shall be excessively glad to read a paper about 

 Aldrovanda? and am very much obliged for reference. It is 

 pretty to see how the caught flies support Drosera ; nothing 

 else can live. 



Thanks about plants with two kinds of anthers. I 

 presume (if an included flower was a Cassia] 4 that Cassia is 

 like lupines, but with some stamens still more rudimentary. 

 If I hear I will return the three Melastomads ; I do not 

 want them, and, indeed, have cuttings. I am very low about 

 them, and have wasted enormous labour over them, and 

 cannot yet get a glimpse of the meaning of the parts. I 

 wish I knew any botanical collector to whom I could apply 

 for seeds in their native land of any Heterocentron or 

 Monochcetum ; I have raised plenty of seedlings from your 

 plants, but I find in other cases that from a homomorphic 

 union one generally gets solely the parent form. Do you 

 chance to know of any botanical collector in Mexico or Peru ? 

 I must not now indulge myself with looking after vessels and 

 homologies. Some future time I will indulge myself. By 

 the way, some time I want to talk over the alternation of 

 organs in flowers with you, for I think I must have quite 

 misunderstood you that it was not explicable. 



1 Genera Plantarum, by Bentham and Hooker, Vol. I., Part I., 1862. 



2 "On Welwitschia? Linn. Soc. Trans. [1862], XXIV., 1863. 



3 See Insectivorous Plants , p. 321. 



1 Todd has described a species of Cassia with an arrangement of 

 stamens like the Melastomads. See p. 292. 



