438 FERTILISATION OF FLOWERS. [1860. 



sent a notice for the Gardeners' Chronicle* on a curious diffi- 

 culty in the Bee Orchis, and should much like to hear what 

 you think of the case. In this article I have incidentally 

 touched on adaptation to visits of insects ; but the contriv- 

 ance to keep the sticky glands fresh and sticky beats almost 

 everything in nature. I never remember having seen it de- 

 scribed, but it must have been, and, as I ought not in my book 

 to give the observation as my own, I should be very glad to 

 know where this beautiful contrivance is described." 



He wrote also to Dr. Gray, June 8, 1860 : 



" Talking of adaptation, I have lately been looking at our 

 common orchids, and I dare say the facts are as old and well- 

 known as the hills, but I have been so struck with admiration 

 at the contrivances, that I have sent a notice to the Garden- 

 ers* Chronicle. The Ophrys apifera, offers, as you will see, a 

 curious contradiction in structure." 



Besides attending to the fertilisation of the flowers he was 

 already, in 1860, busy with the homologies of the parts, a 

 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 Or- 

 chids 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 Or- 

 chideae, 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 



* June 9, 1860. This seems to have attracted some attention, espe- 

 cially among entomologists, as it was reprinted in the Entomologists Weekly 

 Intelligencer^ 1860. 



