My dear Sir

I have been looking over my notes on E. palustris & sh^d. much like to see a few more flowers just on point of opening.² Should you think me very unreasonable if I were to ask you to send me a few: I have enquired and am told it does not grow here.—

I have never heard whether it grows near you: if it does & you could visit the spot twice, I would ask you to try a little experiment, viz to cut off the terminal & movable division of the Labellum in 6 or 8 flowers which had not quite opened & which therefore could not have been visited by insects; & mark these flowers with little bits of thread & then see if these set pods as well as the other flowers.— But this little experiment would be useless if this is a species which does not freely in ordinary cases set pods.— I would not on any account have you take much trouble to try this; but if I had the opportunity I sh^d. try it for bare chance: of its showing that this terminal portion of Labellum was of use, as I suspect, in guiding and aiding some unknown insect in its proper function of fertilising the flowers.—³

My dear Sir | Yours sincerely | Charles Darwin