Dear Sir

I should think that you would be able to manage Begonia frigida and its allies, at this season of the year, much better in the window of a room where a fire is kept every day than in a greenhouse where the frost is kept out and nothing more.¹ I believe you would find no difficulty in growing them in your study window, only taking the precaution of moving them away from the windows in severe frosts. B. frigida flowers nearly or quite all the year round; I expect it could only be procured from Kew; the nurserymen would hardly think it showy enough to keep. I left a stock of young ones when I came away. I believe its most nearly allied species would be the little group to which B. Dregei, B. parvifolia, and B. Natalensis belong. My poor old friend Dr. Klot of Berlin, who parted Begonia up into some 30 or 40 genera, would I think put all of them into his group “Augustia”—² There can be but little doubt that B. frigida would hybridize with those mentioned. As far as I have been enabled to judge I should say that the genus Begonia is too comprehensive to get all the members to cross with each other.— Thus I could never get the B. Xanthina group (to which most of the coloured leaved species now so popular belong) to cross with the upright caulescent sp. Not more than 4 or 6 species have been used in procuring these painted leaved vars.—³ B. frigida does produce normal male & female flowers as well as the hermaphrodite ones.

I did not know of the Peloria Tropæolum, I have never seen it.⁴

Since I wrote to you last I have reason to think that my Antirrhinum experiment was more successful than I anticipated.⁵ Still one must not build too much upon a single experiment. I refer to those flowers which were simply protected with netting without being otherwise touched. I believe that not more than half the flowers were fertilised; and even these might have been done by insect agency—for the flowers of the Snap-dragon are inhabited by a number of very minute insects which no net could keep out, but still large enough to carry a few grains of pollen about.

It is very rarely indeed that a flower misses producing seed if left to nature and therefore as several were left unfertilised in my netted plant I shall try again with great hope of proving what could hardly be anticipated. Should it prove to be sterile unless artificially aided why where can we look for a plant which would be self-fertilised   they would surely be exceptions. But I am perhaps looking ahead too hopefully— Do you know of any one who has got the Peloria form of Antirrhinum? I have never seen it.—⁶ Many thanks for your hint relative to dimorphism among my Plantains   I shall look diligently for it—though I have hitherto seen nothing which led me to expect it.⁷ I was much pleased to hear of your success with the Pelargonium⁸

I have to thank you very much for offer of aid in the way of plants, but I hope and trust, at the same time, that nothing I said looked like complaining⁹   I hate a grumbler and should despise myself if I thought I had been weak enough to do it. The man who suits my taste is the one who makes the most of the opportunities he has (and everybody has opportunities of some kind). I’ll tell you how I have acted this year. I bought and begged some annual seeds last spring   these I have grown on, have harvested my crop, and as soon as the seed is clean, mean to exchange it with some nurseryman for plants. My income is larger than it was at Kew and I am not afraid to spend a little upon a hobby which is as dear as life itself to me.¹⁰ I would as soon be dead as have no plants, even though they be weeds.

I think I shall be all right for Hollyhocks next year.—¹¹ I have got some Scarlet Geraniums upon which I am trying influence of pollen from long and short stamens, but my experiments are quite young.— I last year collected seed of all the kinds of Aquilegia I could get hold of with a vague sort of idea that something would come of it for there are several distinct colours among them. They’ll flower next year. But what a job I had to raise them! I was obliged to sow in the open ground (I have since bought two frames) and the seeds laid for four blessed months without one germinating. I gave them up for lost but I have now got them strong enough to stand the winter I trust.

In conclusion allow me to say that there is nothing in the world which could give me greater pleasure than to answer to the best of my ability any question you could can put— the more of these questions there are the better I shall be pleased— at the same time you may trust my honesty to say that I dont know if I have any doubt upon the subject.

Trusting you will often give me the happiness of answering anything upon which I can be of the very least assistance to you, I remain, dear Sir, | yours most respectfully | C. W. Crocker

C. Darwin Esq^e.

As there is not much in flower just now I have been amusing myself with the Ivy—perhaps the most useful plant in all our flora so far as birds and the insect world is concerned. It flowers when everything else has done and ripens its fruit when other supplies of food are nearly exhausted. I find lots of little variations which nobody has thought it worth while to notice, as for instance in general form of inflorescence (not of individual flowers), in time of blooming, &c. Some persist in making only one terminal umbel—while others produce as usual many, it is the case all over the plant.