My dear Lubbock

Will you be so kind as to send & lend me the Desmodium gyrans by the Bearer who brings this note.—²

Shortly after you left I found my notice of the seeds in the Gardeners Chronicle, which please return hereafter, as I have no other copy.—³ I do not think that I made enough about the great power of absorption of water by the corolla-like calyx or pappus.—⁴ It seems to me not unlikely that the pappus of the Compositæ may be serviceable to the seeds, whilst lying on the ground, by absorbing the dew which would be especially apt to condense on the fine points & filaments of the pappus.— Anyhow this is a point which might be easily investigated. Seeds of Tussilago or groundsel emit worm-like masses of mucus, & it would be curious to ascertain whether wetting the pappus alone w^d suffice to cause such secretion—⁵

Ever yours very sincerely | Ch. Darwin