To Fritz Müller 11 December 1876
Down, | Beckenham, Kent. | Railway Station | Orpington. S.E.R.
Dec 11. 76
My dear Sir.
I have just heard with the most lively pleasure from your brother that you have been appointed to some office in connection with natural history at Rio de Janeiro.1 I rejoice at this in many ways, and especially that you will now be able to devote most of your time to science. Hereafter I should very much like to hear what your duties are. I do not know whether you have attended to or feel any interest in Glacial phenomena; but I do not think a greater service to science could be performed than to make out the nature of the surface deposits near Rio, which Agassiz attributed to glacial action. Certainly erratic boulders occur there, but all which I saw were thoroughly well rounded.2
I dispatched about a week since to you my new book on Cross-Fertilisation, and I will send you in a few weeks time a new edit of my Orchis book in which I have profited largely by your observations. I am now beginning to prepare a small book on dimorphic plants; and here again I am incessantly using your specimens and your observations.3
With my repeated congratulations believe me, my dear Sir | Yours very sincerely | Charles Darwin
Footnotes
Bibliography
Correspondence: The correspondence of Charles Darwin. Edited by Frederick Burkhardt et al. 29 vols to date. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1985–.
Cross and self fertilisation: The effects of cross and self fertilisation in the vegetable kingdom. By Charles Darwin. London: John Murray. 1876.
Forms of flowers: The different forms of flowers on plants of the same species. By Charles Darwin. London: John Murray. 1877.
Freeman, Richard Broke. 1977. The works of Charles Darwin: an annotated bibliographical handlist. 2d edition. Folkestone, Kent: William Dawson & Sons. Hamden, Conn.: Archon Books, Shoe String Press.
Journal of researches: Journal of researches into the geology and natural history of the various countries visited by HMS Beagle, under the command of Captain FitzRoy, RN, from 1832 to 1836. By Charles Darwin. London: Henry Colburn. 1839.
Orchids 2d ed.: The various contrivances by which orchids are fertilised by insects. By Charles Darwin. 2d edition, revised. London: John Murray. 1877.
Summary
FM’s new position in Rio.
CD interested in nature of surface deposits at Rio.
Sends a copy of Cross and self-fertilisation.
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-10709
- From
- Charles Robert Darwin
- To
- Johann Friedrich Theodor (Fritz) Müller
- Sent from
- Down
- Source of text
- The British Library (Loan MS 10 no 40) (EH 88205870)
- Physical description
- LS 4pp
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 10709,” accessed on 18 April 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-10709.xml
Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 24