r, of Trinidad] to ask him to observe what
the insects did in the flowers of Melastomaceae: he says not proper
season yet, but that on one species a small bee seemed busy about the
horn-like appendages to the anthers. It will be too good luck if
my study of the flowers in the greenhouse has led me to right
interpretation of these appendages.

LETTER 628. TO J.D. HOOKER. Down, November 28th [1871].

If you had come here on Sunday I should have asked you whether you could
give me seed or seedlings of any Melastomad which would flower soon to
experiment on! I wrote also to J. Scott to ask if he could give me seed.

Several years ago I raised a lot of seedlings of a Melastomad greenhouse
bush (Monochaetus or some such name) (628/1. Monochaetum.) from stigmas
fertilised separately by the two kinds of pollen, and the seedlings
differed remarkably in size, and whilst young, in appearance; and I
never knew what to think of the case (so you must not use it), and
have always wished to try again, but they are troublesome beasts to
fertilise.

On the other hand I could detect no difference in the product from
the two coloured anthers of Clarkia. (628/2. Clarkia has eight stamens
divided into two groups which differ in the colour of the anthers.) If
you want to know further particulars of my experiments on Monochaetum
(?) and Clarkia, I will hunt for my notes. You ask about difference in
pollen in the same species. All dimorphic and trimorphic plants present
such difference in function and in size. Lythrum and the trimorphic
Oxalis are the most wonderful cases. The pollen of the closed imperfect
cleistogamic flowers differ in the transparency of the integument, and
I think in size. The latter point I could ascertain from my notes. The
pollen or female organs must differ in almost every individual in some
manner; otherwise the pollen of varieties and even distinct individuals
of same varieties would not be so prepotent over the individual plant's
own pollen. Here follows a case of individual differences in function of
pollen or ovules or both. Some few individuals of Reseda odorata and R.
lutea cannot be fertilised, or only very rarely, by pollen of the same
plant, but can by pollen of any other individual. I chanced to have two
plants of R. odorata in this state; so I crossed them and raised five
seedlings, all of which were self sterile and all perfectly fertile
with pollen of any other individual mignonette. So I made a self