To Daniel Oliver 20 December [1860]1
Down Bromley Kent
Dec. 20th
My dear Mr Oliver
If you have Rafinesque’s New Flora of N. America, will you kindly look & tell me the date of Part First.2
Drumond of Swan River has sent me seeds of a Compos. Plant.—Styloncerus Humifusus of Labillard.3 As, after looking at them, I shall not want them, I have thought I would just mention that I had them, in case they shd. of any use at Kew; not that I suppose they would.— He has sent me seeds of Distylis which I shall plant.— You sent me a Goodenia, also, so I shall have plenty of this order now.— I have been pleased at a prophecy which I made to myself coming true, viz that Bees would open the indusium & get out the pollen & thus accidentally carry it from flower to flower, for Drummond writes that he watches a small Bee busily employed in extracting the pollen out of the indusium of a Brunonia.— This feat, would I expect puzzle our European Bees.—
Yours very truly | C. Darwin
Footnotes
Bibliography
Origin: On the origin of species by means of natural selection, or the preservation of favoured races in the struggle for life. By Charles Darwin. London: John Murray. 1859.
Rafinesque, Constantine Samuel. 1836. New flora and botany of North America. 4 pts. Philadelphia.
Summary
Requests date of [C. S.] Rafinesque[-Schmaltz], New flora of North America, pt 1 [1836].
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-3027
- From
- Charles Robert Darwin
- To
- Daniel Oliver
- Sent from
- Down
- Source of text
- DAR 261.10: 28 (EH 88206011)
- Physical description
- ALS 3pp
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 3027,” accessed on 24 April 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-3027.xml
Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 8