264 FERTILISATION [l86l. 



subject of which he made good use in the Orchid book, 

 He wrote to Sir Joseph Hooker (July) : 



" It is a real good joke my discussing homologies of Orchids 

 with you, after examining only three or four genera ; and this 

 very fact makes me feel positive I am right ! ! I do not quite 

 understand some of your terms ; but sometime I must get 

 you to explain the homologies ; for I am intensely interested 

 on the subject, just as at a game of chess." 



This work was valuable from a systematic point of view. 

 In 1880 he wrote to Mr. Bentham : 



" It was very kind in you to write to me about the 

 Orchideae, for it has pleased me to an extreme degree that I 

 could have been of the least use to you about the nature of 

 the parts." 



The pleasure which his early observations on Orchids gave 

 him is shown in such extracts as the following from a letter 

 to Sir J. D. Hooker (July 27, 1861) : 



" You cannot conceive how the Orchids have delighted me. 

 They came safe, but box rather smashed ; cylindrical old 

 cocoa- or snuff-canister much safer. I enclose postage. As 

 an account of the movement, I shall allude to what I suppose 

 is Oncidium, to make certain, is the enclosed flower with 

 crumpled petals this genus ? Also I most specially want to 

 know what the enclosed little globular brown Orchid is. I 

 have only seen pollen of a Cattleya on a bee, but surely have 

 you not unintentionally sent me what I wanted most (after 

 Catasetum or Mormodes), viz. one of the Epidendreae ? ! I 

 particularly want (and will presently tell you why) another 

 spike of this little Orchid, with older flowers, some even 

 almost withered." 



His delight in observation is again shown in a letter to 

 Dr. Gray (1863). Referring to Cruger's letters from Trinidad,, 

 he wrote: " Happy man, he has actually seen crowds of 

 bees flying round Catasetum, with the pollinia sticking to 

 their backs!" 



