1st from you). You have made all your conclusions so admirably clear, that
it would be no use at all to be a botanist (sneer No. 2). By Jove, it
would do harm to affix any idea to the long names of outlandish orders.
One can look at your conclusions with the philosophic abstraction with
which a mathematician looks at his a times x + the square root of z
squared, etc. etc. I hardly know which parts have interested me most; for
over and over again I exclaimed, "this beats all." The general comparison
of the Flora of Australia with the rest of the world, strikes me (as
before) as extremely original, good, and suggestive of many reflections.

...The invading Indian Flora is very interesting, but I think the fact you
mention towards the close of the essay--that the Indian vegetation, in
contradistinction to the Malayan vegetation, is found in low and level
parts of the Malay Islands, GREATLY lessens the difficulty which at first
(page 1) seemed so great. There is nothing like one's own hobby-horse. I
suspect it is the same case as of glacial migration, and of naturalised
production--of production of greater area conquering those of lesser; of
course the Indian forms would have a greater difficulty in seizing on the
cool parts of Australia. I demur to your remarks (page 1), as not
"conceiving anything in soil, climate, or vegetation of India," which could
stop the introduction of Australian plants. Towards the close of the essay
(page civ), you have admirable remarks on our profound ignorance of the
cause of possible naturalisation or introduction; I would answer page 1, by
a later page, viz. page civ.

Your contrast of the south-west and south-east corners is one of the most
wonderful cases I ever heard of...You show the case with wonderful force.
Your discussion on mixed invaders of the south-east corner (and of New
Zealand) is as curious and intricate a problem as of the races of men in
Britain. Your remark on mixed invading Flora keeping down or destroying an