nd which was afterwards
published in the "Bull. Soc. Bot. Belg." XVII., 1878. The terms
xenogamy, geitonogamy, and autogamy were first suggested by Kerner in
1876; their definition will be found at page 9 of Ogle's translation
of Kerner's "Flowers and their Unbidden Guests," 1878. In xenogamy the
pollen comes from another PLANT; in geitonogamy from another FLOWER
on the same PLANT; in autogamy from the androecium of the fertilised
FLOWER. Allogamy embraces xenogamy and geitonogamy.)

Down, October 4th, 1877.

I have now read your MS. The whole has interested me greatly, and
is very clearly written. I wish that I had used some such terms as
autogamy, xenogamy, etc...I entirely agree with you on the a priori
probability of geitonogamy being more advantageous than autogamy; and
I cannot remember having ever expressed a belief that autogamy, as a
general rule, was better than geitonogamy; but the cases recorded by
me seem too strong not to make me suspect that there was some unknown
advantage in autogamy. In one place I insert the caution "if this
be really the case," which you quote. (741/2. See "Cross and
Self-Fertilisation," pages 352, 386. The phrase referred to occurs in
both passages; that on page 386 is as follows: "We have also seen reason
to suspect that self-fertilisation is in some peculiar manner beneficial
to certain plants; but if this be really the case, the benefit thus
derived is far more than counterbalanced by a cross with a fresh stock
or with a slightly different variety." Errera and Gevaert conclude
(pages 79-80) that the balance of the available evidence is in favour of
the belief that geitonogamy is intermediate, in effectiveness, between
autogamy and xenogamy.) I shall be very glad to be proved to be
altogether in error on this point.

Accept my thanks for pointing out the bad erratum at page 301. I hope
that you will experimentise on inconspicuous flowers (741/3. See Miss
Bateson, "Annals of Botany," 1888, page 255, "On the Cross-Fertilisation
of Inconspicuous Flowers:" Miss Bateson showed that Senecio vulgaris
clearly profits by cross-fertilisation; Stellaria media and Capsella
bursa-pastoris less certainly.); if I were not too old and too much
occupied I would do so myself.

Finally let me thank you for the kind manner in which you refer to my
work, and with cordial good wishes for your success...

LETTER 742. TO W. THISELTON-DYER. Down, October 9th, 1877.

One line to thank you much abo