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Darwin Correspondence Project

To J. D. Hooker   [3 May 1857]

Moor Park

Sunday morning

My dear Hooker

I have just received your final & most conclusive destruction of woolly-alpine doctrine.1 I shd. hope that these materials (now returned) would be well worth publishing in something:—

Would they not come in well in your Arctic memoir;2 so that I do not apologise for having been the means of stirring you up to prove that your old suspicions were thoroughily well grounded.

It has given my nervous system, as a compiler, a severe shock; I am sure to publish many small generalisations as false as you have shown this to be.— Whenevever you turn to Arctic work, bear in mind Linnæus & Adamson’s remark about flowers becoming apelatous in cold, & therefore Arctic species ought to be normally apetalous in many cases.—3

I am not sure whether you meant me to return you your note accompanying your Statistics, if so, let me hear & I will return it.4

I return Asa Gray’s list of Alpines.—

I suppose you will soon have back Mrs. Hooker.— Her presence has been a great thing for Etty, & pray give her my best thanks for all her kindness to Etty.

My dear Hooker | Most truly yours | Ch. Darwin

Footnotes

J. D. Hooker 1862.
CD refers to a manuscript list, drawn up by Hooker, tabulating alpine plants according to their ‘woolliness’ (see letter to J. D. Hooker, [2 May 1857]).

Summary

JDH’s last letter demolishes woolly alpine plant theory.

Correlation of apetalous flowers and cold climate.

Letter details

Letter no.
DCP-LETT-2088
From
Charles Robert Darwin
To
Joseph Dalton Hooker
Sent from
Moor Park
Source of text
DAR 114: 196
Physical description
ALS 5pp

Please cite as

Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 2088,” accessed on 28 March 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-2088.xml

Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 6

letter