<engraved address>
25, Wilton Place,
S.W.
June 7/75
My dear Sir
Every now and then a case of apparent Parthenogenesis turns up – one was described of a Zanthoxylum (<Ibelium?>) by Mr Hanbury in the Linnean Journal two or three years since and others have been noticed – still the great difficulty in proving the total absence of any pollen bearing flowers – the great deviation from the ordinary course of nature – and the knowledge who how minute a portion of the total quantity of pollen produced by a plant is sufficient for fertilising a number of flowers has made many persons very sceptical about any real parthenogenesis in plants – for it is often not necessary for the male & female flowers to be open at the same time as pollen will keep – Still every additional case brought forward if great care is taken to search the whole plant tends to strengthen the opinions of those who believe in parthenogenesis and it is therefore useful to place on record every such well authenticated case – I do not think that any has yet been noticed in <illeg>
Yours very truly
George Bentham
H. F. Talbot Esqr