ble
kingdom is concerned do I distinctly remember having read any discussion
on general highness or lowness, excepting Schleiden (I fancy) on
Compositae being highest. Ad. de Jussieu (36/1. "Monographie de la
Famille des Malpighiacees," by Adrien de Jussieu, "Arch. du Museum."
Volume III., page 1, 1843.), in "Arch. du Museum," Tome 3, discusses
the value of characters of degraded flowers in the Malpighiaceae, but I
doubt whether this at all concerns you. Mirbel somewhere has discussed
some such question.

Plants lie under an enormous disadvantage in respect to such discussions
in not passing through larval stages. I do not know whether you
can distinguish a plant low from non-development from one low from
degradation, which theoretically, at least, are very distinct. I must
agree with Forbes that a mollusc may be higher than one articulate
animal and lower than another; if one was asked which was highest as a
whole, the Molluscan or Articulate Kingdom, I should look to and compare
the highest in each, and not compare their archetypes (supposing them to
be known, which they are not.)

But there are, in my opinion, more difficult cases than any we have
alluded to, viz., that of fish--but my ideas are not clear enough, and
I do not suppose you would care to hear what I obscurely think on this
subject. As far as my elastic theory goes, all I care about is that very
ancient organisms (when different from existing) should tend to resemble
the larval or embryological stages of the existing.

I am glad to hear what you say about parallelism: I am an utter
disbeliever of any parallelism more than mere accident. It is very
strange, but I think Forbes is often rather fanciful; his "Polarity"
(36/2. See Letter 41, Note.) makes me sick--it is like "magnetism"
turning a table.

If I can think of any one likely to take your "Illustrations" (36/3.
"Illustrations of Himalayan Plants from Drawings made by J.F. Cathcart."
Folio, 1855.), I will send the advertisement. If you want to make up
some definite number so as to go to press, I will put my name down with
PLEASURE (and I hope and believe that you will trust me in saying
so), though I should not in the course of nature subscribe to any
horticultural work:--act for me.

LETTER 37. TO J.D. HOOKER. Down, [May] 29th, 1854.

I am really truly sorry to hear about your [health]. I entreat you
to write down your own case,--symptoms, and habits of life,--and then
consider your case a