My dear Hooker

The magnificent & awful Box of Books arrived quite safely this morning, & I thank you heartily for so valuable assistance.²

I shall not, of course, try to do all, but will invest a handsome sum with our Schoolmaster,³ & will see that the Books are covered & are taken scrupulous care of. But it is slow work, & if I keep the Books too long you must order them home. I have not yet fixed what to begin with. I will, hereafter, do the Indian Flora, as I had intended;⁴ I understood that you had tabulated it for same end, but I suppose I quite misunderstood you, & was at the time surprised that you thought it worth so much of your valuable time.

I have to thank you & D^r. Seeman (& please give him my particular thanks) for the honour of being elected a member of the Soc. Cæs. Leopold &c. &c.:⁵ I confess that I know nothing of this Soc^y. but no doubt it is an honour.

I have just finished Asa Gray’s Lessons in Botany:⁶ how wonderfully clear they are: so clear & simple that I infer that he must have passed over all difficulties: at least my very ancient remembrance of similar works tells me that Botany was formerly much more complicated.

I will see how the present Books work out about varieties before I think of De Candolle:⁷ I am not at all sure that I see my way theoretically when the whole range of a plant is taken in, for then come in geographical representatives, which may perhaps form a somewhat different case from a species in the same country splitting up into varieties.

I enclose questions for Anderson, & if he can help me, it will be valuable assistance.—⁸

I have just been writing an audacious little discussion, to show that organic beings are not perfect, only perfect enough to struggle with their competitors; & I have been giving the pollen-case of Coniferæ, which we talked over; & Drone Bees give a good parallel in animals—viz 2000 to fertilise 2 or 3 Queens, & the act causing the inevitable death of the Male!⁹

I am so very sorry that you cannot come soon here.

Farewell | My dear Hooker | C. Darwin

If you can remember, will you ask Henslow to enquire whether Water-Fowl have ever been seen in Ransome’s great tank, when shells reappear.—¹⁰

P.S. Speaking of tank & water-fowl reminds me to mention as bearing on water-waders transporting seeds, that in some mud, got on Feb. 10 from 3 or 4 spots under water on edge of small pond (& therefore no one nest of seeds)—that out of this mud, which when stiff filled break-fast cup & when dried at ordinary heat, weighed 6$\frac{3}{4}$ oz, I have picked out, during last six months 537 plants! many different kinds of plants appeared.—¹¹