My dear Hooker

I am sorry for your sake to say I must write at considerable Length.— First would you object to send me list of the 12 superior men:¹ I had made up my mind with you about the Pres. G. Soc.^y. ²

Secondly: here is to me a calamity, I have sent to Edinburgh for the “Lawsonian Collection &c”³ it is “quite out of print”. Now can Sir William lend me any old copy: the first Edit. would do perfectly; I say old, for I sh^d. like, if permitted, to make slight (to be afterwards rubbed out) pencil-marks to guide my inspection at Kew?— It is a real misfortune that I cannot buy a copy.— By the way Berkerly most kindly has sent me some of the curious, self-hybridised (the ticket at Kew gave me a false impression) Peas⁴ & some other vars: so that I shall now have 45 vars. of Peas growing by the side of each other!

Thirdly, if D^r. Alexander⁵ can give no more information, the case even for credulous me, is worthless; I have constantly observed eggs of some parasite adhering to the bodies of Nepa, a water-bug, if the Lady uses the terms correctly, it is perhaps these ova, & not of Fish.—

Fourthly. Thank you very much for the information about the seeds.⁶ I had fancied you had some definite opinion that seeds of certain groups could not possibly withstand salt-water. I am not yet prepared to try the experiment on so large a scale as you suggest: indeed I have hardly the means; but I am glad to find I have commenced very much on the principles you suggest, but on a much smaller scale. I have had one experiment some little time in progress, which will I think be interesting, namely seeds in salt water immersed in water of 32^o–33^o, which I have & shall long have, as I filled a great tank with Snow.—⁷ When I wrote last, I was going to triumph over you, for my experiment had in a slight degree succeeded, but this with infinite baseness I did not tell in hopes that you would say that you would eat all the plants, which I could raise after immersion. It is very aggravating that I cannot in the least remember what you did formerly say, that made me think you scoffed at the experiments vastly; for you now seem to view the experiment like a good Christian.⁸ I have in small bottles out of doors, exposed to variations of temp., but in shade, exposed to light, as yet only Cress, Radish, Cabbages, Lettuces, Carrots, Celery, & Onion seed; 4 great Families. These after immersion for exactly one week, have all germinated, which I did not in the least expect, (& thought how you w^d. sneer at me) for the water of nearly all & of the cress especially, smelt very badly, & the cress-seed emitted a wonderful quantity of mucus (the Vestiges would have expected them to turn into tadpoles)⁹ so as to cohere in a mass; but these seeds germinated & grew splendidly. The germination of all (especially Cress & Lettuces) has been accelerated, except the cabbages, which have come up very irregularly & a good many, I think, dead. One w^d. have thought from native habitat that cabbage w^d. have stood well. The Umbelliferæ & onions seem to stand the salt well. I wash the seed before planting them. I have written to Gardeners’ Chronicle;¹⁰ though I doubt whether it was worth while. If my success seems to make it worth while, I will send a seed list to get you to mark some different classes of seeds. To day I replant the same seeds as above after 14 days immersion.¹¹ As many sea-current go a mile an hour: even in a week they might be transported 168 miles: the Gulf-stream is said to go 50 & 60 miles a day.—¹² So much & too much on this head; but my geese are always swans.—

I have made, at cost of more trouble than worth, a list of all the naturalised plants from A. Gray¹³ to calculate proportions of the great Families, as I did from the Cybele:¹⁴ as you seemed to think this of some interest; I do not scruple to ask you to deliberately read over the enclosed papers;¹⁵ for Gray uses so many different expressions that I am puzzled what to do, & am afraid of being biassed from theory in any selection. Please read heading. The expressions are exactly copied. There is from context, no essential difference between “introduced” & “naturalised”. I have doubted whether to take whole list, as it stands or to strike out those with (?) or clear doubt expressed. Once I thought of selecting those best & most thoroughily naturalised; but this would be difficult to do & the number left would be few. If I were to make any selection, I w^d. pin paper over names, shuffle the papers & so not be biassed. will you deliberate & advise me: I will send you the results, if you like to have them. I have had to count all the species: ill-luck to the labour.— I am thinking of writing with many apologies to A. Gray to ask him a few questions on alpine plants &c.—¹⁶

Goodbye | My dear Hooker | Most truly yours | C. Darwin

I plant my salted seeds in glass tumblers (having first tried & recorded rate of germination of same seeds unsalted) so that I can see the seed all the time, before & after germination, on the chimney piece.—