skip to content

Darwin Correspondence Project

To J. D. Hooker   3 December [1858]

Down Bromley Kent

Dec. 3d

My dear Hooker

I return Murchison’s good-humoured letter.— I returned yours to him, yesterday to Huxley.1 Your letter struck me as very clear & good.—

I also return all your lists & memoranda, which I have had all copied.—2 They are very interesting to me, & will be more so, whenever I treat in full the Glacial question; when that will be God knows.— I have been much struck with the plants in Tasmania common to Europe & not found in Australia. Also with so many plants common to Europe, S. America & Australia; what an enormous range! How very curious your list from Fl. Antarctica is, showing as far as I can make out, that every plant common to the S. extremity of America & Europe is found on the highway to it ie N. America; though some plants I see, are common to N. America & T. del Fuego, which do not occur in Europe as might have been expected—: Will you just look at your own list & see if I have understood this case rightly; & I will ask you whenever we meet.—3 When that will be I know not; I had made up my mind to be at the next Phil. club,4 but my head feels so queer, that I am going to consult a Doctor & if he thinks anything of my symptoms, I shall go at once for fortnight to Moor Park; otherwise I shall try & put off till I have got a little more work done.—5

Yours affecty | C. Darwin

Footnotes

See preceding letter.
The list is DAR 50: E67–8.
The next meeting of the Philosophical Club of the Royal Society was on 16 December. CD attended the meeting (Philosophical Club minutes, Royal Society).
There is no record of any medical consultation in CD’s Account book (Down House MS). CD visited London on 14–16 December (see following letter). He did not go to Moor Park again until 5 February 1859 (‘Journal’; Appendix II).

Summary

Examining JDH’s list. CD struck by how many plants are common to Europe, S. America, and Australia.

Letter details

Letter no.
DCP-LETT-2377
From
Charles Robert Darwin
To
Joseph Dalton Hooker
Sent from
Down
Source of text
DAR 114: 256
Physical description
ALS 4pp

Please cite as

Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 2377,” accessed on 28 March 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-2377.xml

Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 7

letter