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Darwin Correspondence Project

From John Abberley (Darwin gardener)1 and R. W. Darwin   18 October 1841

Sir

I have gather the seed Peas but i dount see heney new kinds at all in them as the came up true to the sorts the Woodford Peas is Mildew i have all the sorts by themselves

Beans

I have not gather all the seed of the Beans & I think the [ fan] bean is in Clind to be a Mule for some of the seeds are tinge with green on the Edges2

Thyme

I gather a Little thyme seed but it is verrey Poor the wet as been against it ripeing But i have cut some of the flowers to dry & verrey Liklea thear might be some seeds in it

the Cucumber that the insects carred Pollen tou i have cut oppen but not one seed was in it the Horther that I dusted with the Pollen had plenty of seeds in it

I have tow moore furit which the insects have dust with Pollen as soon Sir that the are Redy i will Let you hear about them

Abberly has just given me the above letter to read and as he is busy I told him he had not make any conclusion as I would direct it for him. he has something more to say, but it shall be added to some letter of your sisters.

Your affecti— father | R W D 18 Oct 41

Footnotes

In CD’s Account Book (Down House MS) for 19 July 1841, Abberley is listed together with other members of the household staff at The Mount.
In his Questions & experiments notebook (Notebooks) CD has ‘Get Abberley to plant single Peas, Kidney Bean & Bean, intertwined, *without sticks [interl]—in reference to what Mr Herbert observe on this subject—’ (DAR 206: 11). There are further references to Abberley on pp. 10a, 14.

Bibliography

Notebooks: Charles Darwin’s notebooks, 1836–1844. Geology, transmutation of species, metaphysical enquiries. Transcribed and edited by Paul H. Barrett et al. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press for the British Museum (Natural History). 1987.

Summary

The family gardener reports on seeds he has gathered. RWD transmits the letter.

Letter details

Letter no.
DCP-LETT-610
From
John Abberley; Robert Waring Darwin
To
Charles Robert Darwin
Sent from
Shrewsbury
Source of text
DAR 162: 78
Physical description
ALS 1p, CD notes 3pp, encl AL 2pp

Please cite as

Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 610,” accessed on 19 April 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-610.xml

Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 2

letter