1S90 PEOFESSOE LE CONTE 033 



Thought,' !Mr. Eomanes thought very highly, and 

 introduced it to the notice of various people, especially 

 to Mr. Aubrey Moore. 



He writes to Mr. Le Conte : 



To Professor Le Conte. 



Geanies, Koss-shire, X.B. : October 11, 1887. 



Dear Su', — I am much obhged to you for sending 

 me a copy of your most interesting paper on Flora of 

 the Coast Islands, &c. 



If you are acquainted "with my new theorj- of 

 ' Physiological Selection ' (pubhshed in ' Jom'n. Lin. 

 Soc' 1886) you will understand why I regard your 

 facts as furnishing first-rate material for testing 

 that theory. If you cannot get access to my paper, I 

 will send you a copy on my return to London in 

 December. 



My object in now writing — over and above that of 

 thanking you for your paper — is to ask whether 3-ou 

 yourself, or any other American naturahst whom you 

 may know, would not feel it well worth while to try 

 some experiments on the hybridisation of the peculiar 

 pedes. Although I agree with you in thinking it 

 probable that many of these species may be ' rem- 

 nants,' I also think it abundantly possible that some 

 of them may be merely evolved forms. A botanist 

 on the spot might be able to determine, by inteUigent 

 comparison, which of the pecuhar species are most 

 probably of the last-mentioned character. These he 

 might choose for his experiments on hybridisation. 

 And I should expect him to find marked evidence of 



s 



