From J. D. Hooker 25 November 1873
Royal Gardens Kew
Nov 25/73.
Dear Darwin
Yes I noted that the albida leaves closed only partially even when most active— the closing being quite different from what obtains at night or with M. pudica under irritation by day.1
The prima facia objection to your theory of the cause of closing will I suppose be, that if true, all or at least more species should close their leaves on the application of water—except indeed you can show special injury done to M. albida by water2
It is just possible that other seeds may be mixed with L. Nissolia; our seed collection is getting old3
No time to think of Nepenthes & Dyer only goes at it when I set to work myself.4 I am in the agonies about the dinner speeches on Monday.5 We increase the albida by cuttings, I do not know why we have got so low with our stock of it as that but our plant of it remains— no one asks for it & we have an enormous stock of other things to keep up6
Thanks for the P.O. card—7 never mind if you do kill M. albida.
Ever yours affec | J D Hooker
I have just heard that Lyell has been taken ill in the street & had to be taken into a shop. A Lady was with him—8 I have sent to enquire.—
If Frank is with you please tell him that I have written to Q. A. Str. hoping that he will be my guest at the dinner on Monday9
CD annotations
Footnotes
Summary
He has noticed that Mimosa albida leaves closed only partially. It can be objected to CD’s theory that, if true, all, or at least more, species would close their leaves on application of water, unless he can show special injury done to M. albida by water.
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-9160
- From
- Joseph Dalton Hooker
- To
- Charles Robert Darwin
- Sent from
- Kew
- Source of text
- DAR 103: 183, 186
- Physical description
- ALS 4pp †
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 9160,” accessed on 29 March 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-9160.xml
Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 21