ON THE 



FERTILISxiTION OF ORCHIDS 



BY 



INSECTS, 



&c. &c. 



INTKODUCTION. 



The object of the following work is to show that the 

 contrivances by which Orchids are fertilised, are as 

 varied and almost as perfect as any of the most beauti- 

 ful adaptations in the animal kingdom ; and, secondly, 

 to show that these contrivances have for their main 

 object the fertilisation of the flowers with pollen 

 brought by insects from a distinct plant. In my 

 volume * On the Origin of Species ' I gave only general 

 reasons for the belief that it is an almost universal law 

 of nature that the higher organic beings require an 

 occasional cross with another individual ; or, which is 

 the same thing, that no hermaphrodite fertilises itself 

 for a perpetuity of generations. Having been blamed 

 for propounding this doctrine without giving ample 

 facts, for which I had not sufficient space in that work, 

 I wish here to show that I have not spoken without 

 having gone into details. 



I have been led to publish this little treatise sepa- 

 rately, as it is too large to be incorporated with any 

 other subject. As Orchids are universally acknow- 

 ledged to rank amongst the most singular and most 



