To Adolf Ernst 4 April 1880
Down, | Beckenham, Kent. | Railway Station | Orpington. S. E. R.
April 4 | 1880
Dear Sir
Your excellent letter has interested me much.1 I have had much pleasure in ordering the two books to be sent to you.2 It grieves me that you have so little time for observing, as I feel sure that you would make many interesting discoveries. That seems to me a good idea about punching out the glands of Passiflora.3 I wish you could get pollen of Abutilona Striatum from some other country or district as I should expect that with its aid you could raise vigorous seedlings from the weak plants long cultivated near Caracas.4 I still think, that if you can find the requisite time that it would be well worth while to test the fertility of illegitimate offspring from heterostyled plants. Should you hereafter be able to make any observations on the frequency of bloom-covered leaves on the dry plains I should be particularly glad to hear.5 I entirely agree with what you say about M. Bonnier’s work which has now been published separately.6 I know nothing about Triplaris.7
Pray forgive brevity, as I have many letters to write My dear Sir | Yours faithfully | Charles Darwin
P.S. Is not the Turnera defended by its ants against leaf-cutting ants or other enemies?8
Footnotes
Bibliography
Bonnier, Gaston. 1879a. Les nectaires: étude critique, anatomique et physiologique. Paris: G. Masson.
Bonnier, Gaston. 1879b. Les nectaires: étude critique, anatomique et physiologique. Annales des sciences naturelles. Botanique 6th ser. 8: 5–212.
Coral reefs 2d ed.: The structure and distribution of coral reefs. By Charles Darwin. Revised edition. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1874.
Geological observations 2d ed.: Geological observations on the volcanic islands and parts of South America visited during the voyage of H.M.S. ‘Beagle’. By Charles Darwin. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1876.
Summary
Thanks for interesting letter; is sure it would be worth while to test fertility of illegitimate offspring of heterostyled plants.
Would welcome any information on occurrence of bloom-covered leaves on dry plains.
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-12561
- From
- Charles Robert Darwin
- To
- Adolf Ernst
- Sent from
- Down
- Source of text
- State Darwin Museum, Moscow (GDM KP OF 8973)
- Physical description
- LS(A) 3pp
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 12561,” accessed on 19 October 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-12561.xml