424 MISCELLANEOUS, 1850-1860 
of Monocots whatever. . . . Even Trecul, who considers 
the rhizome of Nymphaea as exogenous, agrees that the 
embryo is strictly dicotyledonous ! I have examined all 
the genera in germination, Euryale, Victoria, Nymphaea, 
and Nelumbium, and these are all germinal, exorhizal, and 
dicot. in the process, besides the reticulated leaves and a host 
of other characters that you must find some explanation of, 
under your hypothesis. 
. . . You may console j^ourself with the fact that there 
is no snare so great as an anomaly of this kind, in the way 
of a correct appreciation of the affinities of families. Of 
all branches of Botany the Systematic requires the most 
extensive knowledge of structure, and the most careful 
consideration of the relative (far more than the positive) 
characters afforded by the organs. Just look at Lindley's 
heterodoxies with all his knowledge, all arising from seeing 
only one side of the question. The older I gi'ow and the more 
I study the affinities of plants, the more ignorant I feel, 
for it is a most comprehensive study. This is my homily 
on Nymphaeaceae. 
Richmond : Saturdaj-, 1855. 
Dear Henslow, — Many thanks for yom^ exposition of 
Nelumbium. I think you have got hold of as pretty a 
paradox as ever graced the pages of Schleiden ; however I 
will not prejudice yom' observation till I examine again. 
My great objection was how^ever not against your making 
Nelumbium Monocots, w^hich I always thought beyond 
assault, and which has never been assailed but by yourself, 
but Nymphaea, the structure of whose embryo and plumule 
is so totally different from your analysis of Nelumbium, 
that if your theory holds good then Trecul's paradox will be 
exactly reversed by you and Nelumb. will go to Monocots, 
and Nymph, remain in Dicots ! ! ! I think however that 
your genius and originahty have here led you deep into the 
slough of Paradox and that your emersion when it comes, 
will be with a rapidity directly proportioned to the buoyancy 
of your good understanding and the density of the said 
medium + the resilience resulting from the rapidity with 
which you descended. ... I might have tm'ned Buddhist, 
Eomanist, Hindu or Mahomedan on half the evidence during 
the course of my travels. 
