From A. W. Bennett 21 September 1874
6, Park Village East, | Regent’s Park, | N.W.
Sept. 21st. 1874.
Dear Sir
The accompanying nos. of the “Botanische Zeitung” have been sent me, containing papers by Dr. H. Hoffmann on variability in the genera Phaseolus & Papaver, which I thought might interest you if you have not already seen them.1 Dr Hoffmann appears to be the author of a work “Untersuchungen zur Bestimmung des Werthes von Species u. Varietäten” (1869) with which I am not acquainted.2
I have been making during the past summer a few fresh observations on Drosera & Pinguicula; but do not know that I have detected anything fresh of much importance. What I did observe I have described to Dr. Hooker, who is, I believe, going to see you soon; & he will explain them to you if he thinks them of any value.3 The most interesting observation to myself is the detection of cells of a peculiar form

beneath the epidermis in the leaves of both these plants & in the glands of Drosera, which I have been able to discover in no other plant except Callitriche: Dr Hooker tells me there are structures of the same kind in Darlingtonia; but whether they have anything to do with the process of digestion I am quite unable to say.4 They appear to be full of a yellowish protoplasm.
Yrs very truly | Alfred W. Bennett
C. Darwin Esq.
A. W. Bennett

a, peculiar bodies in leaf & filament of gland of Drosera; (they are dispersed over the whole leaf. & not confined to the margin).

b similar bodies in leaf of Pinguicula.

Section of leaf of Drosera before unfolding, showing both the surface of the leaf & the filaments of the glands to be covered with papillæ. (These appear to disappear on maturity from the gland-filaments, but not from the surface of the leaf).
Footnotes
Bibliography
Bennett, Alfred William. 1875. The absorptive glands of carnivorous plants. [Read 1 December 1875.] Monthly Microscopical Journal 15 (1876): 1–5.
Hoffmann, Hermann. 1869. Untersuchungen zur Bestimmung des Werthes von Species und Varietät. Ein Beitrag zur Kritik der Darwin’schen Hypothese. Giessen: J. Ricker’sche Buchhandlung.
Insectivorous plants. By Charles Darwin. London: John Murray. 1875.
Summary
Sends papers and references.
Reports his microscopic observations on Drosera and other plants.
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-9648
- From
- Alfred William Bennett
- To
- Charles Robert Darwin
- Sent from
- London, Park Village East, 6
- Source of text
- DAR 160: 142
- Physical description
- ALS 2pp sketch
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 9648,” accessed on
Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 22