To Nature 6 May [1876]1
Cherry Blossoms
In the last number of Nature (vol. xiv., p. 10), Mr. Pryor states that the flowers of the wild cherry are bitten off in large numbers in much the same manner as I formerly described in the case of the primrose.2 Some days ago I observed many cherry blossoms in this state, and to-day I saw some actually falling. I approached stealthily so as to discover what bird was at work, and behold it was a squirrel. There could be no doubt about it for the squirrel was low in the tree and actually had a blossom between its teeth. It is none the less true that birds likewise bite the flowers of the cherry tree.
Charles Darwin
Down, Beckenham, May 6
Footnotes
Bibliography
Correspondence: The correspondence of Charles Darwin. Edited by Frederick Burkhardt et al. 29 vols to date. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1985–.
Summary
Reports seeing flowers of wild cherry bitten off in same manner as primroses [see 9418 and 9444]. In this case it was done by a squirrel, though birds also bite the flowers of the cherry-tree.
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-10498
- From
- Charles Robert Darwin
- To
- Nature
- Sent from
- Down
- Source of text
- Nature, 11 May 1876, p. 28
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 10498,” accessed on 19 April 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-10498.xml
Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 24
