Dear Father

M^rs Ruck knew where the Lathyrus maritima grew so Amy & I railed off there; it is near a little place called Llwyngwril near Barmouth on the cliffs— We found it growing in tangled masses—most lovely tho’ it was rather passed. They have the nectar holes just like the ones in the everlasting pea—² I saw a bee going to them & he went to a hole bitten in the base of the keel   Amy & I examined 24 flowers & found in 23 of them this hole was present & on the right hand side (looking at the flower from above). We therefore looked at the nectar holes of 24 of them and in 16 of them the right hole was biggest, in 2 equal or doubtful and in 6 the left bigger   The reason the right is bigger is that the pod in growing out of the stamen tube goes to the right of the loose stamen; and we think the reason of that is that the pod has a slight bend with the convexity towards the right. The right nectar holes is bigger than the left even before the splitting up caused by the growth of the pod. In the everlasting pea, the pod we think also goes to the right of the loose stamen, but the right hole we think isnt bigger till the splitting begins but we will look at a lot. Why should the bees bite the Maritima but go in the proper way pressing down the keel, in Everlasting Peas—³ They bite quite young buds in Maritima perhaps Maritima has honey in younger buds than the bee can get at in the legitimate way? I suppose you know all this, but it has been great fun discovering it— The droseras had their feed of bread yesterday— I have put bread on the damp moss beside them to compare— I shall look tomorrow.⁴ Tell Jim no family should be without his worm-garden— we have grt fun with ours— we take notes and take tracings of their burrows⁵   I think they will lay their eggs as I have two worms and they are in full breeding condition— We find they make a very curly burrow with a blind end and then somehow turn round with their heads towards the entrance   I think we shall make them out— They have made no castings in the surface of the earth but very small ones in the burrow itself

My love to mother & thank her for her letter— We send you a Maritima | Yrs affec F Darwin