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From W. E. Darwin   3 February [1881]1

Ridgemount, | Basset, | Southampton.

Feb 3d

My dear Father,

I send you a paper box with leaves in it, they were very sodden & decayed so that they are a poor set.2

I took out a plate & some ink, and dipped the end in the ink & laid them on the plate, and afterwards put an atom of vermilion on the inked parts, as I doubted whether the ink would be very distinct   the best are in little box fastened with sealing wax in the bigger one.3

I also send several Rhododendron leaves which I found drawn in and apparently stopping up holes.4

Underneath these in a paper are some leaves which were tucked in sideways, but I am not quite sure which side was lowest, however they were doubled up as you see them.5

I will have another look on Sunday, but I doubt if I shall find any more; so that I hope you will make something out of these; I found a good number of crumbling broken scraps but I found it difficult to say which way they were placed in the holes, as they may have got turned in being pulled out.

I am very glad to hear that you think you will make out the habits satisfactorily.

The post is soon off—so no more— | Your affect son | W. E. Darwin

Footnotes

1
The year is established by the relationship between this letter and the letter from W. E. Darwin, 4 February 1881.
2
This was a collection of leaves that earthworms had pulled into the mouths of their burrows to plug them up at night.
3
CD was ‘wholly rewriting’ his chapter on the habits of worms, and had asked William to check which ends of leaves were pulled into earthworm burrows (see letter to W. E. Darwin, 31 January [1881]). William marked one end of the leaves with ink to help his observations (see letter to W. E. Darwin, 14 January [1881]). CD had observed that worms usually drew in leaves by the more streamlined tips rather than by the footstalk (Earthworms, pp. 64–8).
4
CD became particularly interested in rhododendron leaves after William pointed out that the leaves of some species were narrower at the base than at the apex; they therefore provided a way of testing whether earthworms exhibited intelligence in selecting the end that could be dragged into their burrows most easily (Earthworms, pp. 69–70).
5
As leaves were drawn into earthworm burrows, they became closely folded and pressed together (Earthworms, p. 59).

Bibliography

Earthworms: The formation of vegetable mould through the action of worms: with observations on their habits. By Charles Darwin. London: John Murray. 1881.

Summary

Worm observations.

Letter details

Letter no.
DCP-LETT-13035F
From
William Erasmus Darwin
To
Charles Robert Darwin
Sent from
Basset, Southampton
Source of text
Cornford Family Papers (DAR 275: 88)
Physical description
ALS 4pp

Please cite as

Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 13035F,” accessed on 14 May 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-13035F.xml

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Darwin Correspondence Project
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