wouldgladlypublishyourobservations，anditisagreatpitytheyshouldbelost。IfyoulikeIwouldsendyourpapertoeitherquarterwithanote。Inthiscaseyoumustgiveatitle，andyourname，andperhapsitwouldbewelltopremiseyourremarkswithalineofreferencetomypaperstatingthatyouhadobservedindependentlyandmorefully。
Ihavereadmyownpaperoverafteranintervalofseveralyears，andamamusedatthecautionwithwhichIputthecasethatthefinalendwasforcrossingdistinctindividuals，ofwhichIwasthenasfullyconvincedasnow，butIknewthatthedoctrinewouldshockallbotanists。Nowtheopinionisbecomingfamiliar。
Toseepenetrationofpollen—tubesisnotdifficult，butinmostcasesrequiressomepracticewithdissectingunderaone—tenthofaninchfocaldistancesinglelens;andjustatfirstthiswillseemtoyouextremelydifficult。
Whatacapitalobserveryouare——afirst—rateNaturalisthasbeensacrificed，orpartlysacrificedtoPubliclife。
Believeme，yoursverysincerely，CH。DARWIN。