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From J. D. Hooker   31 August 1867

Royal Gardens Kew

Aug 31/67.

Dear Darwin

I have given up Dundee—my Mother being very ill with a severe attack of Peritonitis & Enteritis, which has called me down to Norwich, where she lives.—1 My wife2 is there, & I return tonight to be back here again on Monday mg.

I most stupidly have forgotten the name of your Brazil friend, to whom I want to write badly as he can help us much.3

We are quite ready for any refuse Orchids you may be good enough to send us.4

Ever aff Yrs | J D Hooker

Self impregnated Victoria has given a wretched yield— The results of the impregnation by Chats-worth plants are now being ripened.5

It is quite curious how difficult I find it to get our best Foremen to keep an accurate register—though they have your instructions in writing. I have now had to order that every capsule ripened be reported to me & kept for my examination!

Footnotes

1
Hooker refers to the meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science held in Dundee from 4 to 11 September 1867 (Report of the thirty-seventh meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science; held at Dundee in September 1867, p. lxxiii). Hooker’s mother, Maria Hooker, had moved to Norwich in 1867 (Allan 1967, p. 224).
3
Fritz Müller had offered to supply Hooker with specimens of Brazilian plants (see letter to J. D. Hooker, 25 [April 1867]).
4
CD had received orchid specimens from John Traherne Moggridge (see Correspondence vols. 13 and 14, and this volume, letter from J. T. Moggridge, 22 April [1867]). He later sent several of the specimens to Hooker (see letter to J. T. Moggridge, 1 October [1867]).
5
The reference is to Victoria regia (now V. amazonica) and to the garden of Chatsworth House in Derbyshire, which had a greenhouse specially built by Joseph Paxton to house specimens of the plant (R. Desmond 1994). CD had become interested in this species and the related Euryale ferox, which was reported to be perpetually self-pollinating (see Correspondence vol. 14, letter from Robert Caspary, 25 February 1866, and letter to J. D. Hooker, 1 November [1866]).

Bibliography

Allan, Mea. 1967. The Hookers of Kew, 1785–1911. London: Michael Joseph.

Correspondence: The correspondence of Charles Darwin. Edited by Frederick Burkhardt et al. 29 vols to date. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1985–.

Desmond, Ray. 1994. Dictionary of British and Irish botanists and horticulturists including plant collectors, flower painters and garden designers. New edition, revised with the assistance of Christine Ellwood. London: Taylor & Francis and the Natural History Museum. Bristol, Pa.: Taylor & Francis.

Summary

Has given up Scotland trip due to his mother’s illness.

Asks for Fritz Müller’s full name – "he can help us much".

Reports on self-impregnated Victoria and impregnation of Chatsworth plants. Difficult to get foreman [of gardens] to keep accurate register.

Letter details

Letter no.
DCP-LETT-5619
From
Joseph Dalton Hooker
To
Charles Robert Darwin
Sent from
unstated
Source of text
DAR 102: 176–7
Physical description
ALS 3pp

Please cite as

Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 5619,” accessed on 6 May 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-5619.xml

Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 15

letter

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