hat the
variety rubra of the primrose was sterile when crossed with pollen
from the common primrose. Darwin's caution to Scott was in some
measure justified, for in his experiments on seedlings raised by
self-fertilisation of the Edinburgh plants, he failed to confirm Scott's
result. See "Forms of Flowers," Edition II., page 225. Scott's facts are
in the "Journal Linn. Soc." VIII., page 97 (read February 4th, 1864).) I
will advise to best of my power when I see MS. If evidence is not good
I would recommend you, for your reputation's sake, to try them again. It
is not likely that you will be anticipated, and it is a great thing
to fully establish what in future time will be considered an important
discovery (or rediscovery, for no one has noticed Gartner's facts). I
will procure coloured primroses for next spring, but you may rely I will
not publish before you. Do not work too hard to injure your health. I
made some crosses between primrose and cowslip, and I send the results,
which you may use if you like. But remember that I am not quite
certain that I well castrated the short-styled primrose; I believe any
castration would be superfluous, as I find all [these] plants sterile
when insects are excluded. Be sure and save seed of the crossed
differently coloured primroses or cowslips which produced least seed,
to test the fertility of the quasi-hybrid seedlings. Gartner found the
common primrose and cowslip very difficult to cross, but he knew nothing
on dimorphism. I am sorry about delay [of] your orchid paper; I should
be glad of abstract of your new observations of self-sterility in
orchids, as I should probably use the new facts. There will be an
important paper in September in "Annals and Magazine of Natural
History," on ovules of orchids being formed after application of pollen,
by Dr. F. Hildebrand of Bonn. (648/3. "Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist." XII., 1863,
page 169. The paper was afterwards published in the "Bot. Zeitung,"
1863.)

LETTER 649. TO J. SCOTT. Down, November 7th [1863].

Every day that I could do anything, I have read a few pages of your
paper, and have now finished it, and return it registered. (649/1.
This refers to the MS. of Scott's paper on the Primulaceae, "Linn. Soc.
Journ." VIII. [February 4th, 1864] 1865.) It has interested me deeply,
and is, I am sure, an excellent memoir. It is well arranged, and in most
parts well written. In the proof sheets you can correct a little
with advantage. I have sugg