skip to content

Darwin Correspondence Project

From W. E. Darwin   6 February 1881

Ridgemount, | Basset, | Southampton.

Feb. 6th 1881 | Sunday

My dear Father,

I have just found the following numbers of Rhododendrons leaves buried— I have neglected a good many cases where there was great doubt whether it was the action of worms, but if anything I have erred on the side of including cases where they were buried apex downwards.1

I have found 36 drawn in stalk downwards to 17 with the apex downwards. or 36 to 18, if you include the enclosed one which I have considerable doubts about.

Where ever a leave is standing up and fairly buried in part, whether apex or stalk downwards, I have taken it to be the action of worms, though frequently there is no other sign of worms at that particular spot; as I suppose that the snow & rain in many cases would ⁠⟨⁠    ⁠⟩⁠ the earth close round the ⁠⟨⁠    ⁠⟩⁠ and leave no sign of ⁠⟨⁠    ⁠⟩⁠ worm hole; if this is no⁠⟨⁠t⁠⟩⁠ satisfactory I will try agai⁠⟨⁠n⁠⟩⁠ and only take cases wher⁠⟨⁠e⁠⟩⁠ there is other evidence of worms. I send you a bo⁠⟨⁠x⁠⟩⁠ containing most of those I extracted, so that you will see the sort of leaf—

When the leaf is fresh and not curled up it easies⁠⟨⁠t⁠⟩⁠ ⁠⟨⁠    ⁠⟩⁠ drawn by the stalk from ⁠⟨⁠the⁠⟩⁠ tapering of the leaf.

I collected a number of withe⁠⟨⁠red⁠⟩⁠ leaves some curled & some uncurled under the trees an⁠⟨⁠d⁠⟩⁠ sorted them in 3 lots

1. in which it would be easiest to draw in by the stalk

⁠⟨⁠2. th⁠⟩⁠ose in which it would be the same both ways

⁠⟨⁠3.⁠⟩⁠ those in which it would be easiest to draw in by the apex.

(1.) there were 153 leaves (2) — 21 " (3) — 63 "

(2) and (3) there is a larger proportion of leaves closely ⁠⟨⁠curle⁠⟩⁠d up than in (1)

⁠⟨⁠    ⁠⟩⁠ are almost all curled into two parallel pipes.

⁠⟨⁠I ca⁠⟩⁠n easily look again if there is any other point.

⁠⟨⁠I⁠⟩⁠ enclose a slip Mlle. Wild gave me showing an article in “La Nature” on your book.2 We were glad to get George’s note3

Your affect son | W. E Darwin

CD annotations

1.1 I have … apex downwards. 1.4] crossed blue crayon
2.1 I have … stalk downwards] ‘642 from lot’ added ink
2.1 to 17 … downwards.] ‘3/20. from lot’ added ink
4.1 When the … leaf. 4.2] scored red crayon
5.8 63] ‘/237’ added below blue ink
8.1 ⁠⟨⁠I ca⁠⟩⁠n … note 9.2] crossed blue crayon

CD note:

Rhododendron – leaves in Burrows

by Base

4262 = 68100

by Apex

2062 =321004

Footnotes

CD had asked William to observe which end of rhododendron leaves had been used to pull them into worm burrows, and whether this correlated with the narrowest part of the leaf (see letter to W. E. Darwin, 4 February [1881]). Rhododendrons were useful for testing worm intelligence because the narrowest part of their leaves was sometimes the apex and sometimes the base depending on the variety of rhododendron (Earthworms, p. 69).
Henriette Wild. Movement in plants was reviewed in ‘Le mouvement chez les végétaux par M. Charles Darwin’, La Nature, 29 January 1881, pp. 138–9. This review was a translation (with some omissions) of the review published in Gardeners’ Chronicle, 27 November 1880, pp. 692–3.
Probably the letter from George Howard Darwin to CD announcing his arrival on Madeira (see letter to W. E. Darwin, 4 February [1881] and n. 5).
The numerators ‘68’ and ‘32’ were added in William’s hand.

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

Reports his observations on numbers of Rhododendron leaves found buried [by earthworms].

Letter details

Letter no.
DCP-LETT-13039
From
William Erasmus Darwin
To
Charles Robert Darwin
Sent from
Bassett
Source of text
DAR 162: 112/1
Physical description
ALS 6pp damaged †, CD note

Please cite as

Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 13039,” accessed on 29 March 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-13039.xml

letter