To T. H. Huxley 8 September [1854]
Down Farnborough Kent
Sept. 8th.
My dear Sir
I am extremely much obliged to you for your interesting note. Now that you are enjoying holidays,1 it is really a shame to ask you to write again, but if you wd. send me literally a single line, just to say which of the two Leuckart’s, whether “Fr. Sig.”2 who has been publishing much since 1820, or Rud. Leuckart,3 who published in 1847 on Sepiola, & in 1851 on Polymorphismus.4
I enclose my list & I have still one more copy, which I will either keep for somebody turning without you think fit to add another name.—
I have sent my Book for you to Jermyn St, & Mr. Baily says he has sent it on to Dr. Lankester according to your instructions.—
I am much pleased to hear what you say about the Branchiæ of Balanus: it is exactly my view, the ovigerous fræna having been metamorphosed to this new function, & the glands having become aborted.— And the case strikes me as rather pretty.5
If ever so practised a hand as you sets to work on the Cirripedia I have no doubt whatever, you will discover many errors on my part: I learnt the art of minute dissection in this work, which for a long time was the work of a mere beginner.—6
I most heartily agree with you, in what you say about Owen & the pursuit of Science.—7
Very sincerely yours | C. Darwin
I cannot find out in any Bibliographia, where Leydig8 has published, though I know the name.— Will it not be rash to send on chance to Würzburg Krohn9 I think I cd. send to care of Müller as he often publishes in the Archif.10
I will follow your advice & send through Williams & Norgate11
Footnotes
Bibliography
Krohn, August David. 1859. Beobachtungen über den Cementapparat und die weiblichen Zeugungsorgane einiger Cirripedien. Archiv für Naturgeschichte 25 (pt 1): 355–64.
Leuckart, Rudolf. 1847. Ueber die männlichen Geschlechtstheile der Sepiola vulgaris. Archiv für Naturgeschichte 13: 23–9.
Living Cirripedia (1854): A monograph of the sub-class Cirripedia, with figures of all the species. The Balanidæ (or sessile cirripedes); the Verrucidæ, etc. By Charles Darwin. London: Ray Society. 1854.
Summary
Agrees with THH on metamorphosis of branchiae of Balanus, and on his view of Owen.
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-1590
- From
- Charles Robert Darwin
- To
- Thomas Henry Huxley
- Sent from
- Down
- Source of text
- Imperial College of Science, Technology, and Medicine Archives (Huxley 5: 11)
- Physical description
- ALS 4pp
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 1590,” accessed on 26 September 2022, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-1590.xml
Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 5