92 THE UNFINISHED BOOK. 



alluded to a score of times. Falconer was haranguing on 

 it the other day to me. Meyen or Gay, or some such fellow 

 (whom you would despise), I remember, makes some remark 

 on Chilian Cordillera plants. Wimmer has written a little book 

 on the same lines, and on varieties being so characterized in 

 the Alps. But after writing to you, I confess I was staggered 

 by finding one man (Moquin-Tandon, I think) saying that 

 Alpine flowers are strongly inclined to be white, and Linnseus 

 saying that cold makes plants apetalous, even the same 

 species ! Are Arctic plants often apetalous ? My general 

 belief from my compiling work is quite to agree with what 

 you say about the little direct influence of climate ; and I 

 have just alluded to the hairiness of Alpine plants as an ex- 

 ception. The odoriferousness would be a good case for me if 

 I knew of varieties being more odoriferous in dry habitats. 



I fear that I have looked at the hairiness of Alpine plants as 

 so generally acknowledged that I have not marked passages, 

 so as at all to see what kind of evidence authors advance. 

 I must confess, the other day, when I asked Falconer, whether 

 he knew of individual plants losing or acquiring hairiness 

 when transported, he did not. But now this second, my 

 memory flashes on me, and I am certain I have somewhere 

 got marked a case of hairy plants from the Pyrenees losing 

 hairs when cultivated at Montpellier. Shall you think me 

 very impudent if I tell you that I have sometimes thought 

 that (quite independently of the present case), you are a little 

 too hard on bad observers ; that a remark made by a bad 

 observer cannot be right ; an observer who deserves to be 

 damned, you would utterly damn. I feel entire deference 

 to any remark you make out of your own head ; but when in 

 opposition to some poor devil, I somehow involuntarily feel 

 not quite so much, but yet much deference for your opinion. 

 I do not know in the least whether there is any truth in this 

 my criticism against you, but I have often thought I would 

 tell you it. 



