From Henry Coe 4 November 1857
Asylum. Knowle. | Nr. Fareham. Hants.1
4th. Novr. 1857.
Sir,
In an article headed “Bees and Fertilisation of Kidney Beans” published in the Gardeners’ Chronicle of the 24th. ult: I read “I am also astonished that the varieties of the Kidney Bean can be raised true when grown near each other. I should have expected that they would have been crossed by the bees bringing pollen from other varieties; and I should be infinitely obliged for any information on this head from any of your correspondents”.—2
I enclose a few beans they are from the “Black Negro”.— They were planted between the Dwarf Haricot, a “White” Bean, and a Dwarf entirely “Brown”, thus about 10 rows Haricot “White” -’- 4 -’- Negro “Black” then Dwarf. “Brown”.
Such a mixture, I never before met with, and the result was altogether unlooked for or expected— The Haricots (White) are very little touched with the exception of here and there one— The “Brown” not at all.—
I have the honor to be, | Sir, | Your obedt. servt. | Henry Coe. | Gardener Mr. C. Darwin— | &c. &c.
CD annotations
Footnotes
Summary
Responds to CD’s article on kidney beans [Collected papers 1: 275–7]. Sends beans as evidence of crossing.
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-2165
- From
- Henry Coe
- To
- Charles Robert Darwin
- Sent from
- Knowle Asylum, Hampshire
- Source of text
- DAR 161: 192
- Physical description
- ALS 4pp †
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 2165,” accessed on 29 March 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-2165.xml
Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 6