714 FINAL JOURNEYS AND WORK. [1880, 



so kindly received him in 1851. Mr. Lowell was then 

 minister to England, and there were pleasant meet- 

 ings with him. 



In early March he crossed to Paris, where he was 

 joined by Sir Joseph and Lady Hooker for a journey 

 by Mt. Cenis to Italy, going as far south as Castel- 

 lamare and to Amalfi and Pa3stum, and returning ; 

 short stays in Rome, Florence, and so to Venice, where 

 the party divided, Dr. Gray going to Geneva. 



TO A. DE CANDOLLE. 



KEW, December 26, 1880. 



... I am making slow progress with the Asters. 

 The original types of all the older species I shall cer- 

 tainly make out ; but the limitation of the species 

 presents great, if not insuperable difficulties. 



I have read nearly all of Darwin's "Power of 

 Movement in Plants." It is a veritable research, with 

 the details all recorded ; and so it is dull reading. I 

 think it will give the impression to most readers that 

 the terms " geotropism," " epinasty," " hyponasty," etc., 

 contain more of explanation than in fact they do. Yet 

 now and then a remark should prevent this, as on 

 page 569, and notably on page 545, at the close of 

 the chapter, intimating, I suppose with reason 

 that the term " gravity "or " gravitation " is quite 

 misapplied. 



I have just taken up Wallace's " Island Life," and 

 find the earlier chapters most clear and excellent, but 

 without novelty. The idea of the persistence of con- 

 tinents is most commonplace in America since Dana's 

 address in (I think) 1845, and I should have thought 



