i860.] INSECTIVOROUS PLANTS. 317 



gives me some curious cases of bra/ic/i-climbers, in which 

 branches are converted into tendrils, and then continue to 

 grow and throw out leaves and new branches, and then lose 

 their tendril character." (October 1865.) 



The paper on Climbing Plants was republished in 1875, as 

 a separate book. The author had been unable to give his 

 customary amount of care to the style of the original essay, 

 owing to the fact that it was written during a period of 

 continued ill-health, and it was now found to require a great 

 deal of alteration. He wrote to Sir J. D. Hooker (March 3, 

 I ^7S) '• "It is lucky for authors in general that they do not 

 require such dreadful work in merely licking what they write 

 into shape." And to Mr. Murray in September he wrote : 

 " The corrections are heavy in ' Climbing Plants,' and yet 

 I deliberately went over the MS. and old sheets three times." 

 The book was published in September 1875, an edition of 

 1500 copies was struck off; the edition sold fairly well, and 

 500 additional copies were printed in June of the following 

 year.] 



INSECTIVOROUS PLANTS. 



[In the summer of i860 he was staying at the house of his 

 sister-in-law, Miss Wedgwood, in Ashdown Forest, whence 

 he wrote (July 29, i860), to Sir Joseph Hooker : — 



" Latterly I have done nothing here ; but at first I amused 

 myself with a few observations on the insect-catching power 

 of Drosera ; and I must consult you some time whether my 

 ' twaddle ' is worth communicating to the Linnean Society." 



In August he wrote to the same friend : — 



" I will gratefully send my notes on Drosera when copied 

 by my copier : the subject amused me when I had nothing 

 to do." 



He has described in the 'Autobiography' (vol. i. p. 95), the 

 general nature of these early experiments. He noticed insects 

 sticking to the leaves, and finding that flies, &c, placed on 



