1844—18S 8 ] FLORAS 95 



varieties. These two or three last days I have been observing Letter 49 



wheat, and have convinced myself that L. Deslongchamps is 



in error about impregnation taking place in closed flowers ; 



i.e., of course, I can judge only from external appearances. 



By the way, R. Brown once told mc that the use of the 



brush on stigma of grasses was unknown. Do you know 



its use ? . . . 



You say most truly about multiple creations and my 

 notions. If any one case could be proved, I should be 

 smashed ; but as I am writing my book, I try to take as 

 much pains as possible to give the strongest cases opposed 

 to me, and often such conjectures as occur to me. I have 

 been working your books as the richest (and vilest) mine 

 against mc ; and what hard work I have had to get up your 

 New Zealand Flora ! As I have to quote you so often, I 

 should like to refer to Midler's case of the Australian Alps. 

 Where is it published ? Is it a book ? A correct reference 

 would be enough for me, though it is wrong even to quote 

 without looking oneself. I should like to sec very much 

 Forbcs's sheets, which you refer to ; but I must confess (I 

 hardly know why) I have got rather to mistrust poor dear 

 Forbes. 



There is wonderful ill logic in his famous and admirable 

 memoir on distribution, as it appears to me, now that I have 

 got it up so as to give the heads in a page. Depend on it, 

 my saying is a true one — viz. that a compiler is a great man, 

 and an original man a commonplace man. Any fool can 

 generalise and speculate ; but oh, my heavens, to get up at 

 second hand a New Zealand Flora, that is work. . . . 



And now I am going to beg almost as great a favour as 

 a man can beg of another : and I ask some five or six weeks 

 before I want the favour done, that it may appear less horrid. 

 It is to read, but well copied out, my pages (about forty ! !) 

 on Alpine floras and faunas, Arctic and Antarctic floras and 

 faunas, and the supposed cold mundane period. It would be 

 really an enormous advantage to me, as I am sure otherwise 

 to make botanical blunders. I would specify the few points 

 on which I most want your advice. But it is quite likely 

 that you may object on the ground that you might be 

 publishing before me (I hope to publish in a year at furthest), 

 so that it would hamper and bother you ; and secondly you 



