you assume to be unisexual,
and so far as known represented by male individuals only. Theoretically
you have no doubt assigned good grounds for this view; nevertheless,
experimental observations that I am now making have already convinced me
of its fallacy. And I thus hurriedly, and as you may think prematurely,
direct your attention to it, before I have seen the final result of my
own experiment, that you might have the longer time for reconsidering
the structure of this genus for another edition of your interesting
book, if indeed it be not already called for. I am furthermore induced
to communicate the results of my yet imperfect experiments in the belief
that the actuating principle of your late work is the elicitation of
truth, and that you will gladly avail yourself of this even at the
sacrifice of much ingenious theoretical argumentation.

Since I have had an opportunity of perusing your work on orchid
fertilisation, my attention has been particularly directed to the
curiously constructed floral organs of Acropera. I unfortunately have
as yet had only a few flowers for experimental enquiry, otherwise my
remarks might have been clearer and more satisfactory. Such as they are,
however, I respectfully lay [them] before you, with a full assurance
of their veracity, and I sincerely trust that as such you will receive
them.

Your observations seem to have been chiefly directed to the A. luteola,
mine to the A. Loddigesii, which, however, as you remark, is in a very
similar constructural condition with the former; having the same narrow
stigmatic chamber, abnormally developed placenta, etc. In regard to the
former point--contraction of stigmatic chamber--I may remark that
it does not appear to be absolutely necessary that the pollen-masses
penetrate this chamber for effecting fecundation. Thus a raceme was
produced upon a plant of A. Loddigesii in the Botanic Gardens here
lately; upon this I left only six flowers. These I attempted to
fertilise, but with two only of the six have I been successful: I
succeeded in forcing a single pollen-mass into the stigmatic chamber
of one of the latter, but I failed to do this on the other; however, by
inserting a portion of a pedicel with a pollinium attached, I caused
the latter to adhere, with a gentle press, to the mouth of the stigmatic
chamber. Both of these, as I have already remarked, are nevertheless
fertilised; one of them I have cut off for examination, and its
condition