189 
133. On the movements and habits of climbing plants. London, 
1867. 
Read before a meeting of the Linnean Society, February 2, 
1865. First published in its Journal. Vol. 9. Botany. pp. I- 
118. 
“T was led to take up this oy by reading a short paper by 
Asa Gray, published in 1858.”—Alutobiography. 
134. On the origin of species by means of natural selection. First 
edition. London, 1859, 
“My confounded book which half killed me.”—Darwin to J. D. 
Hooker, October 15, 1859 
“Only an abstract.”—Darwin to Agassiz. 
“T find, alas! each chapter takes me on an average of three 
months, so slow I am.”—Darwin to Asa Gray, April 4, 1859. 
“Your glorious book.”—J. D. Hooker to Darwin. 
“Tt is the very hardest book to read, to full profits, that I ever 
tried—it is so cram-full of matter and reasoning.”—Hooker to 
Darwin, December, 1859. 
“T do not think twenty years too much time to produce such 
a book in... Iam free to say that ] never learnt so much from 
one book as I have from yours.’—Asa Gray, January 1, 1860. 
This book produced a revolution in human thinking, and ranks 
as one of the three or four greatest books of all time. 
Whewell, the historian of science, refused to allow a copy of the 
Origin to be placed in the library of Trinity College, Cambridge, 
for some years. 
135. On the various contrivances by which British and foreign 
orchids are fertilised by insects. First edition. London, 
1862 
“On May 15, 1862, my little book on t 
* which cost me ten months’ work, was published: most 
— 
ve * Fertilisation of 
Orchids, 
of the facts had been slowly accumulated during several previous 
years . . . my interest in [the subject] was greatly enhanced by 
having procured and read in 1841, through the advice of Robert 
3rown, a copy of C. Kk. Sprengel’s wonderful book, ‘ Das entdeckte 
Geheimness der Natur ’.”—-Autobiography. 
