To W. C. Tait 7 April [1869]1
Down. | Beckenham | Kent. S.E.
Ap. 7.
Dear Sir
I am delighted to say that your plants of Drosophyllum are recovering; the old leaves have rotted off & nice healthy new ones are forming. They succeed best in a deep pot with very light soil, standing in a saucer of water, & not watered from above, & they like a rather high temperature.2
The young leaves have caught a good many minute flies. The viscid fluid which is apparently attractive to the insects, is acid as in Drosera & Dionæa; & as in these plants softens the insects. I wished for negative results, but these have proved rather too negative for my taste; for I can detect no trace of movement from the application of nitrogenous matter nor from mechanical irritation. Although I have not the least doubt from analogy that the glands absorb the animalized fluid, I cannot prove this; but I shall have another trial on a more extensive scale with a very weak solution of carbonate of ammonia.3
I will send a couple of plants to Kew, where I hear they will be eagerly received. I hope my last letter came safe to hand.4
With very sincere thanks for your great kindness believe me dear Sir | yours faithfully | Ch. Darwin
Footnotes
Bibliography
Correspondence: The correspondence of Charles Darwin. Edited by Frederick Burkhardt et al. 29 vols to date. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1985–.
Insectivorous plants. By Charles Darwin. London: John Murray. 1875.
Summary
Drosophyllum plants recovering [from trip]. Describes experiments on them.
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-6693
- From
- Charles Robert Darwin
- To
- William Chester Tait
- Sent from
- Down
- Postmark
- Beckenham Ap. 8 | 69
- Source of text
- Natural History Museum, Library and Archives (General Special Collections DC AL 1/10)
- Physical description
- LS 3pp
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 6693,” accessed on 23 April 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-6693.xml
Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 17