414 BOTANY [Chap. XI 



Letter 741 p. 301. I hope that you will experimentise on inconspicuous 

 flowers * ; if I were not too old and too much occupied I 

 would do so myself. 



Finally let me thank you for the kind manner in which 

 you refer to my work, and with cordial good wishes for your 

 success. . . . 



Letter 742 To W. Thiselton-Dyer. 



Down, Oct. 9th, 1877. 



One line to thank you much about Mertensia. The former 

 plant has begun to make new leaves, to my great surprise, so 

 that I shall be now well supplied. We have worked so well 

 with the Averrhoa that unless the second species arrives in a 

 very good state it would be superfluous to send it. I am 

 heartily glad that you and Mrs. Dyer are going to have a 

 holiday. I will look at you as a dead man for the next 

 month, and nothing shall tempt me to trouble you. But 

 before you enter your grave aid me if you can. I want 

 seeds of three or four plants (not Leguminosae or Cruciferae) 

 which produce large cotyledons. I know not in the least 

 what plants have large cotyledons. Why I want to know 

 is as follows : The cotyledons of Cassia go to sleep, and are 

 sensitive to a touch ; but what has surprised me much is that 

 they are in constant movement up and down. So it is with 

 the cotyledons of the cabbage, and therefore I am very curious 

 to ascertain how far this is general. 



Letter 743 To W. Thiselton-Dyer. 



Down, Oct. nth [1877]. 



The fine lot of seeds arrived yesterday, and are all sown, 

 and will be most useful. If you remember, pray thank Mr. 

 Lynch for his aid. I had not thought of beech or sycamore, 

 but they are now sown. 



Perhaps you may like to see a rough copy of the tracing 

 of movements of one of the cotyledons of red cabbage, and 

 you can throw it into the fire. A line joining the two coty- 

 ledons stood facing a north-east window, and the day was 



1 See Miss Bateson, Annals of Botany, 1888, p. 255, "On the Cross- 

 Fertilisation oflnconspicuous Flowers:" Miss Bateson showed that Scnccio 

 vulgaris clearly profits by cross-fertilisation ; Stellaria media and Cap- 

 sella bursa-pastoris less certainly. 



