92 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 



were therefore subjected under this point of view to 

 trial ; but as soon as the flowers with short pistils 

 fertilised with pollen from the short stamens, were 

 found to yield more seeds than any other of the four 

 possible unions, the abortion-theory was knocked on 

 the head. After some additional experiment, it be- 

 came evident that the two forms, though both were 

 perfect hermaphrodites, bore almost the same relation 

 to one another as do the two sexes of an ordinary 

 animal. With Lythrum we have the still more won- 

 derful case of three forms standing in a similar relation 

 to one another. I afterwards found that the offspring 

 from the union of two plants belonging to the same 

 forms presented a close and curious analogy with 

 hybrids from the union of two distinct species. 



In the autumn of 1864 I finished a long paper on 

 4 Climbing Plants,' and sent it to the Linnean Society. 

 The writing of this paper cost me four months ; but I 

 was so unwell when I received the proof-sheets that 

 I was forced to leave them very badly and often ob- 

 scurely expressed. The paper was little noticed, but 

 when in 1875 it was corrected and published as a 

 separate book it sold well. I was led to take up this 

 subject by reading a short paper by Asa Gray, pub- 

 lished in 1858. He sent me seeds, and on raising 

 some plants I was so much fascinated and perplexed 

 by the revolving movements of the tendrils and stems, 

 which movements are really very simple, though ap- 

 pearing at first sight very complex, that I procured 

 various other kinds of climbing plants, and studied the 

 whole subject. I was all the more attracted to it, 



