From Anton de Bary 9 August 1879
Dear Sir,
The few experiments on the nutrition of Utricularia, to which your very kind letter of Aug. 5. refers are not sufficiently exact and complete to allow a publication.1 They gave—even more than the poor dry specimens can show—an evidence of the high efficacity of animal food for the vegetation of U. vulgaris; but the growth of my plants was disturbed by the apparition of algae, then by unfavourable temperature etc., and all these obstacles could not be removed in the very bad locality, where I was obliged to make my experiments. If I had got more than evidence, if it had been possible to give somewhat exact numbers and measure, I would not have neglected a short notice on my observation.
These last days I found, in the laboratory, in an old culture, a lot of very small specimens of U. vulgaris, which I believe to be very well fit for the continuation of my old experiments. I have therefore begun some comparative cultures, and I hope that they are now under better conditions than the old ones. As soon as they permit to give some better result, I will beg you the permission to give you a notice on it; and finally the publication shall not be neglected.2
I had great pleasure to see Mr. Fr. Darwin here, and I am only sorry, that his visit was so very short.3 Begging you, to say to him my best compliments, I am, with the highest respect | faithfully yours | A de Bary.
Str. 9. August 79.
Footnotes
Bibliography
Insectivorous plants 2d ed. By Charles Darwin. Revised by Francis Darwin. London: John Murray. 1888.
Summary
His experiments on nutrition of Utricularia are not sufficiently exact or complete to allow them to be published. He will resume experimentation and report to CD.
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-12188
- From
- Anton Heinrich (Anton) de Bary
- To
- Charles Robert Darwin
- Sent from
- Strasburg
- Source of text
- DAR 162: 134
- Physical description
- ALS 2pp
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 12188,” accessed on 19 April 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-12188.xml