From L. E. Becker 16 January 1877
Manchester National Society for Women’s | Suffrage,
28, Jackson’s Row, Albert Square, Manchester.
Jany 16—1877
With Miss Becker’s compliments.
[Enclosure]
HOLLY BERRIES AND THE BEES.
To the Editor of the Manchester Courier.1
Sir,—I was much interested in reading in your impression of yesterday the paragraph by Mr. Charles Darwin on “the scarcity of holly berries” in different parts of the country this season.2 He traces reasonably the cause to be the rarity of bees last spring, but he cannot account for that rarity. I have had much experience in the habits of bees, and I have noticed in early spring that snow on the ground with bright sunshine causes large numbers of bees to leave their hives, ⟨a⟩nd they are then generally weak and they alight on the snow and thousands thus perish. I think the abundance of snow last spring accounts for it.—Yours. &c., | W. E. BURCHAM.
Failsworth, January 13th, 1877.
Summary
Sends letter clipped from Manchester Courier on CD’s accounting for scarcity of holly berries by scarcity of bees, and writer’s explanation of latter.
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-10792
- From
- Lydia Ernestine Becker
- To
- Charles Robert Darwin
- Sent from
- Manchester
- Source of text
- DAR 160: 120
- Physical description
- ALS 1p encl
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 10792,” accessed on 23 April 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-10792.xml