To W. T. Thiselton-Dyer 16 November 1881
Down, | Beckenham, Kent. | (Railway Station | Orpington. S.E.R.)
Nov. 16th. 1881.
My dear Dyer
Many thanks for your very kind note.—1 I am going to eat my words in my last note, for I shd. be particularly obliged (as soon as your foreman comes back) for any one, 2, 3, or 4 species of the genus Euphorbia.2 But they must not be precious plants, as I must kill them by turning them out of their pots to examine their roots.— I shd like a Poinsettia, if this genus is very close to Euphorbia.3
Also any species of Aslepiadæ; but I do not care much about these, as I have a large plant of Stephanotis & by cutting out a block of earth I daresay I shall find some young roots.4 The subject is by no means worth all the labour I am bestowing on it, but I cannot bear to be beaten.
I fear that I shall kill the splendid specimen of Sarracenia, which Hooker sent:5 it is downright murder, but I cannot help it.—
Ever yours sincerely | Ch. Darwin
Parcels to be addressed
“Live Plants”
C. Darwin
Orpington St.
S. E. R. ly.—
Footnotes
Summary
Would be grateful for some Euphorbia species for examination of the roots. "The subject is by no means worth all the labour I am bestowing on it, but I cannot bear to be beaten."
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-13487
- From
- Charles Robert Darwin
- To
- William Turner Thiselton-Dyer
- Sent from
- Down
- Source of text
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (Darwin: Letters to Thiselton-Dyer, 1873–81: ff. 231–2)
- Physical description
- ALS 4pp
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 13487,” accessed on 28 May 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-13487.xml
