To George Bentham 10 May [1869]1
Down. | Beckenham | Kent. S.E.
May 10th
My dear Mr. Bentham
I have received the 2 papers, reported on them to the best of my ability & returned them to the Soc.y—2
And now I want to trouble you on a little point, which I would not do if Hooker3 was at home. You will remember some years ago considerable interest about a strange monstrous form of Begonia frigida.—4 Fritz Müller has found wild (& this seems to me rather remarkable) an analogous monstrous form, as you will see in enclosed letter.5 Will you read it, & be so kind as to determine whether it is worth communicating to Linn. Soc.—6 I am unable to form any opinion on subject— As Hooker wd. probably like to have plants, will you be so good, when next you go to Kew, to hand the attached seeds to Oliver or some one.— They ought to be labelled “Begonia from S. Brazil producing monstrous flower like that of B. frigida: Fritz Muller.”—7
Pray forgive me for asking this favour & believe me | Yours very sincerely | Ch. Darwin
If Letter of no use be so kind as to return it.—
Footnotes
Bibliography
Variation: The variation of animals and plants under domestication. By Charles Darwin. 2 vols. London: John Murray. 1868.
Summary
Sends a letter (and seeds) from Fritz Müller about a strange monstrous form of Begonia found wild in Brazil. Asks GB whether it is worth communicating to Linnean Society.
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-6743
- From
- Charles Robert Darwin
- To
- George Bentham
- Sent from
- Down
- Source of text
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (Bentham Correspondence, Vol. 3, Daintree–Dyer, 1830–1884, GEB/1/3: f. 680)
- Physical description
- ALS 3pp
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 6743,” accessed on 26 September 2022, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-6743.xml
Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 17