From T. B. Blow 15 January 1876
Welwyn. | Herts
Jany 15 1876
Dear Sir,
In this County I have never noticed Convolvulus arvensis1 in Fruit till this last autumn and as the circumstances under which it fruited were peculiar I thought you might like to hear of it.
A cutting was made at Welwyn station to enable carts &c to get alongside a certain siding.
On the edge of the cutting and where its roots were cut through Con. arvensis produced perfect seeds freely.2
This case alone I should not have thought much of but when in Surrey a few weeks ago with a friend I looked at Con. arvensis to see if I could see fruit. ⟨ ⟩ remarked, “You wont find that in Fruit I never saw it but once and that on the edge of a bank where its roots had been cut and the plant in danger of extermination”
I believe it fruits in places near the sea in fact I saw specimens collected in Kent last autumn but did not enquire whether it grew in a sandy place where its roots could ⟨n⟩ot obtain much hold to enable the plant, to keep its ground.
Believe me | Yours truly | Thomas B. Blow
Chas Darwin. Esqr.
Summary
Reports on the tendency of the normally fruitless Convolvulus arvensis, to form fruit when roots are cut and plant is in danger of dying.
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-10359
- From
- Thomas Bates Blow
- To
- Charles Robert Darwin
- Sent from
- Welwyn
- Source of text
- DAR 160: 201
- Physical description
- ALS 4pp
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 10359,” accessed on 19 April 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-10359.xml
Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 24