To H. H. Leng 26 February 1882
Down, | Beckenham, Kent. | (Railway Station | Orpington. S.E.R)
Feb, 26th 1882
Dear Sir
I wish that I cd. answer your question, but I cannot.1 The usual cause of the death of worms is a parasitic larva of a Fly, but this cd. not apply especially to asphalt pavement.2 Worms are very susceptible to certain poisons, & coal-tar is poisonous to plants for a quite extraordinary length of time, & it may be so to earth-worms.— I have here an uncovered tennis court, consisting of concrete, & my sons tell me that they have often noticed dead & dying worms on the smooth surface; & this makes the whole case still more perplexing.—
I am glad that my little book has at all interested you & I remain | Dear Sir | Yours faithfully | Ch. Darwin
Footnotes
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
CD cannot answer his question concerning the death of earthworms. The usual cause is through parasitic larva of a fly. Worms are susceptible to certain poisons from plants.
Glad his book [Earthworms] has interested HHL.
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-13709A
- From
- Charles Robert Darwin
- To
- Hilary Howard Leng
- Sent from
- Down
- Source of text
- St George’s College Library, Quilmes, Argentina (tipped into a copy of Earthworms that belonged to Leng)
- Physical description
- ALS 3pp
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 13709A,” accessed on 25 April 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-13709A.xml