1844—1858] DIVERGENT AFFINITIES IOI 



gardener, with a most remarkable lot of beans, crossed in Letter 54 

 a marvellous manner in the first generation, like the peas sent 

 to you by Berkeley and like those experimentalised on by 

 Gartner and by Wiegmann. It is a very odd case ; I shall 

 sow these seeds and sec what comes up. How very odd that 

 pollen of one form should affect the outer coats and size of 

 the bean produced by pure species ! . . . 



To J. D. Hooker. Letter 55 



Down [1857 ?]. 

 You know how I work subjects : namely, if I stumble on 

 any general remark, and if I find it confirmed in any other 

 very distinct class, then I try to find out whether it is true, — if 

 it has any bearing on my work. The following, perhaps, may 

 be important to me. Dr. Wight remarks that Cucurbitaceae ! 

 is a very isolated family, and has very diverging affinities- 

 I find, strongly put and illustrated, the very same remark in 

 the genera of hymenoptera. Now, it is not to me at first 

 apparent why a very distinct and isolated group should be 

 apt to have more divergent affinities than a less isolated 

 group. I am aware that most genera have more affinities than 

 in two ways, which latter, perhaps, is the commonest case. 

 I see how infinitely vague all this is ; but I should very much 

 like to know what you and Mr. Bentham (if he will read this), 

 who have attended so much to the principles of classification, 

 think of this. Perhaps the best way would be to think of 

 half a dozen most isolated groups of plants, and then consider 

 whether the affinities point in an unusual number of directions. 

 Very likely you may think the whole question too vague to 

 be worth consideration. 



To J. D. Hooker. Letter 50 



Down, April 8th [1857]. 

 I now want to ask your opinion, and for facts on a point ; 

 and as I shall often want to do this during the next year or 

 two, so let me say, once for all, that you must not take trouble 

 out of mere good nature (of which towards me you have 

 a most abundant stock), but you must consider, in regard 



1 Wight, " Remarks on the Fruit of the Natural Order Cucur- 

 bitaceae" {Ami. Mag. Nat. Hist., VIII., p. 261). R. Wight, F.R.S. 

 (1796—1872) was Superintendent of the Madras Botanic Garden. 



