To George Henslow 23 October [1876]1
Down, | Beckenham, Kent. | Railway Station | Orpington. S.E.R.
Oct. 23.
My dear Sir
I am sorry to say that we differ greatly, but it would take much too much space to discuss all our differences.2
My book will be published early in next month, & I will do myself the pleasure to send you a copy, & you can then read it (if your patience lasts out) & see what I think & my evidence.—3
I have not attended at all to the order of development of the whorls, & it will be interesting if you can prove a relation between the order & a protandrous & protogynous condition. But I feel rather doubtful, as this condition is sometimes variable & is affected by temperature (I have given evidence, & might have added Gärtner),4 & differs in the individuals of the same monœcious & a few hermaphrodite species (cases given in my book);5 & I can hardly suppose that the order of development of the whorls differs in the individuals of the same species, & is affected by temperature &c.
It is quite new to me that dwarfed flowers which are not commonly self-fertile become self-fertile from this cause: I presume that you know, (judging by the close of your sentence) that the penetration of the stigma by the pollen-tubes, is not an absolute proof that seeds will be produced: Eschscholtzia & homomorphic unions of Lythrum salicaria offer instances of this.—6
Pray excuse my not writing at greater length: the subject is really too large for a letter. I sincerely hope that your health is considerably improved & remain, My Dear Sir, Yours faithfully | Ch. Darwin
Footnotes
Bibliography
Cross and self fertilisation: The effects of cross and self fertilisation in the vegetable kingdom. By Charles Darwin. London: John Murray. 1876.
Gärtner, Karl Friedrich von. 1844. Versuche und Beobachtungen über die Befruchtungsorgane der vollkommeneren Gewächse und über die natürliche und künstliche Befruchtung durch den eigenen Pollen. Pt 1 of Beiträge zur Kenntniss der Befruchtung der vollkommeneren Gewächse. Stuttgart: E. Schweizerbart.
‘Illegitimate offspring of dimorphic and trimorphic plants’: On the character and hybrid-like nature of the offspring from the illegitimate unions of dimorphic and trimorphic plants. By Charles Darwin. [Read 20 February 1868.] Journal of the Linnean Society of London (Botany) 10 (1869): 393–437.
Origin 3d ed.: On the origin of species by means of natural selection, or the preservation of favoured races in the struggle for life. 3d edition, with additions and corrections. By Charles Darwin. London: John Murray. 1861.
Summary
Floral structure. The order of the development of the whorls and its relationship to a protandrous or protogynous condition in flowers.
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-10648
- From
- Charles Robert Darwin
- To
- George Henslow
- Sent from
- Down
- Source of text
- Darwin Library–CUL, Henslow 1888 (tipped in opposite p. 190)
- Physical description
- ALS 4pp
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 10648,” accessed on 13 May 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-10648.xml
Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 24