My dear Hooker

Here is an odd, though very little, fact. I think it would be hardly possible to name a bird which apparently could have less to do with distribution than a Petrel. Sir W. Milner¹ at St. Kilda² cut open some young nestling Petrels, & he found large curious nuts in their crops; I suspect picked up by parent-birds from Gulf Stream. He seems to value these nuts excessively; I have asked him (but I doubt whether he will) to send a nut to Sir William Hooker (I gave this address for grandeur sake) to see if any of you can name it & its native country. Will you please mention this to Sir William Hooker, & if the nut does arrive, will you oblige me by returning it to “Sir W. Milner Bart:, Nunappleton Tadcaster” in a registered letter & I will repay you postage: enclose slip of paper with name & country if you can & let me hereafter know.— Forgive me asking you to take this much trouble; for it is a funny little fact after my own heart.—

Now for another subject. I have finished my abstract of Ch. on Geograph. Distrib. as bearing on my subject.—³ I should like you much to read it; but I say this, believing that you will not do so, if, as I believe to be the case, you are extra busy. On my honour I shall not be mortified & I earnestly beg you not to do it, if it will bother you.— I want it, because I here feel especially unsafe & errors may have crept in. Also I sh^d. much like to know what parts you will most vehemently object to; I know we do, & must, differ widely on several heads. Lastly I sh^d. like particularly to know, whether I have taken anything from you, which you w^d like to retain for first publication; but I think I have chiefly taken from your published works; & though I have several times in this Ch. & elsewhere acknowledged your assistance, I am aware that it is not possible for me in this abstract to do it sufficiently.—⁴

But again let me say that you must not offer to read it, if very irksome: it is long, about 90 pages, I expect, when fairly copied out. I hope you are all well. Moor Park has done me some good.—

Yours affect | C. Darwin

P.S. Heaven forgive me; here is another question. How far am I right in supposing that with Plants, the most important characters for main divisions are Embryological?— The seed itself cannot be considered as such, I suppose, nor the albumen &c. But I suppose the cotyledons & their position; & the position of plumule & radicle & the position & form of whole embryo in seed are Embryological, & how far are these very important? I wish to instance Plants, as case of high importance of embryological characters in Classification.— In the Animal Kingdom there is of course no doubt of this.—