To Friedrich Hildebrand 10 August [1871]1
Down Beckenham | Kent [Haredene, Albury, Guildford]
Aug 10
My dear Sir
Owing to other occupations I have only just read your very interesting paper on Oxalis. I am exceedingly pleased to see it published, as the analogous case of Lythrum has always appeared to me so wonderful that I expected hardly any one to believe the facts until they were confirmed.2
I have made some experiments, but not so full as yours, on a S. African Oxalis, & the results agree with yours, as far as I remember. I cannot look at my MS. as I am writing this away from home.3
My health is so indifferent that I do not know whether I shall ever have time to publish my observations on this Oxalis & some dimorphic plants.4 I wish yr idea about the character of the progeny of the legitimate unions of trimorphic plants had occurred to me; for assuredly I would have crossed the same 2 forms of Lythrum for several successive generations & have observed the character of the progeny.5 I think this wd be well worth your while in the case of Oxalis. Should you ever have the opportunity I earnestly hope that you will attend to the degree of fertility of any illegitimate plants in comparison with legitimate, cultivated under the same conditions. I believe that at some future day the importance of these results will be recognised; though as yet you are the sole botanist who, as far as I know, has noticed my paper.
With very sincere respect believe me my dear Sir | yours faithfully | Ch. Darwin
P.S. Very many thanks for the list of seeds, which I will remember; but I do not want any at present.6
What you say about my works suggesting new lines of research, I consider one of the greatest compliments you cd possibly pay me—7
Footnotes
Bibliography
Correspondence: The correspondence of Charles Darwin. Edited by Frederick Burkhardt et al. 29 vols to date. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1985–.
Forms of flowers: The different forms of flowers on plants of the same species. By Charles Darwin. London: John Murray. 1877.
Hildebrand, Friedrich. 1871. Experimente und Beobachtungen an einigen trimorphen Oxalis-Arten. Botanische Zeitung 29: 415–25, 431–42.
‘Three forms of Lythrum salicaria’: On the sexual relations of the three forms of Lythrum salicaria. By Charles Darwin. [Read 16 June 1864.] Journal of the Linnean Society (Botany) 8 (1865): 169–96. [Collected papers 2: 106–31.]
Summary
Mentions experiments on Lythrum.
Thanks for list of seeds.
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-7902
- From
- Charles Robert Darwin
- To
- Friedrich Hermann Gustav (Friedrich) Hildebrand
- Sent from
- Haredene Down letterhead
- Source of text
- Klaus Groove (private collection); sold by Venator and Hanstein, Cologne (dealers), 16 March 2018
- Physical description
- LS(A) 5pp
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 7902,” accessed on 27 May 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-7902.xml
Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 19