To Gardeners’ Chronicle [before 12 November 1857]
Summary
Asks writer of an article on weeds why he supposes "there is too much reason to believe that foreign seed of an indigenous species is often more prolific than that grown at home?" The point is of interest to CD "in regard to the great battle of life which is perpetually going on all around us". Cites analogous observations by Asa Gray and J. D. Hooker. Does writer know "of any other analogous cases of a weed introduced from another land beating out … a weed previously common in any particular field or farm?"
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Gardeners’ Chronicle |
Date: | [before 12 Nov 1857] |
Classmark: | Gardeners’ Chronicle and Agricultural Gazette, 14 November 1857, p. 779 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-2169 |
Matches: 4 hits
- … To Gardeners’ Chronicle [before 12 November 1857] …
- … November 1857, p. 779 Charles Robert Darwin Down [before 12 Nov 1857] Gardeners’ Chronicle …
- … see n. 3, below). CD returned to Down on 12 November 1857 (‘Journal’; see Correspondence …
- … at the Moor Park establishment from 5 to 12 November 1857 (‘Journal’; see Correspondence …
To Gardeners’ Chronicle [before 13 November 1858]
Summary
Reports the decreased yield of pods resulting from excluding bees from the flowers of the kidney bean. Gives other observations suggesting the importance of bees in the fertilisation of papilionaceous flowers.
Cites cases of crosses between varieties of bean grown close together and requests observations from readers on the subject. States his belief "that is a law of nature that every organic being should occasionally be crossed with a different individual of the same species".
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Gardeners’ Chronicle |
Date: | [before 13 Nov 1858] |
Classmark: | Gardeners’ Chronicle and Agricultural Gazette, 13 November 1858, pp. 828–9 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-2359 |
Matches: 6 hits
- … but his draft is in DAR 27.1 (ser. 7): 1–12. The letter text has been taken from the …
- … 38 (DAR 157a). See letters to J. D. Hooker, 12 January [1858] and 15 January [1858] . The …
- … 1832): 50. See letter to J. D. Hooker, 12 January [1858] . See letter from William Swale, …
- … and separated his heterogeneous Negro Beans into 12 lots, according to their tints, and …
- … and many are much mottled. Not one of the 12 lots has transmitted its own tint to all the …
- … Coe , 18 September 1858 , 6 October 1858 , 12 October 1858 , and 20 October 1858 . Coe’s …
To Gardeners’ Chronicle [before 8 October 1864]
Summary
Asks anyone who possesses a treatise on gardening, or an almanac, one or two centuries old, to look up what date is given as the proper period for sowing scarlet runners or dwarf French beans. CD wants to ascertain whether these plants can now be sown earlier than was formerly the case.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Gardeners’ Chronicle |
Date: | [before 8 Oct 1864] |
Classmark: | Gardeners’ Chronicle and Agricultural Gazette (1864): 965 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-4629 |
To Gardeners’ Chronicle [before 10 February 1866]
Summary
Asks botanical readers to inform him "whether in those monoecious or dioecious plants, in which the flowers are widely different, it has ever been observed that half the flower, or only a segment of it, has been of one sex and the other half or segment of the opposite sex, in the same manner as so frequently occurs with insects?"
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Gardeners’ Chronicle |
Date: | [before 10 Feb 1866] |
Classmark: | Gardeners’ Chronicle and Agricultural Gazette, 10 February 1866, p. 127 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-5001 |
To Gardeners’ Chronicle [c. 27 April 1853]
Summary
Solicits information about the kind of syphon required to convey water from a proposed large water tank to existing smaller ones.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Gardeners’ Chronicle |
Date: | [c. 27 Apr 1853] |
Classmark: | Gardeners’ Chronicle and Agricultural Gazette, no. 19, 7 May 1853, p. 302 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-1516A |
Matches: 1 hit
- … should the syphon have, to convey in the course of 10 or 12 hours 3000 gallons of water? …
To Gardeners’ Chronicle [before 21 July 1855]
Summary
Reports on observing hive-bees visiting the leaves of vetch and bean and sucking the minute drops of nectar secreted by the glands on the underside of the stipulae. This phenomenon proves wrong those botanists who believe nectar to be a special secretion for the sole purpose of luring insects to visit flowers and thus to aid in their fertilisation.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Gardeners’ Chronicle |
Date: | [before 21 July 1855] |
Classmark: | Gardeners’ Chronicle and Agricultural Gazette, no. 29, 21 July 1855, p. 487 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-1723 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … as 26 June 1855. In a further note dated 12 July (DAR 46.2 (ser. 3): 30), CD described …
To Gardeners’ Chronicle [before 25 July 1857]
Summary
CD has saved an enormous amount of labour since he replaced the chain on his deep well with wire rope. He now asks readers whether they have had experience of saving on the weight of the bucket by using some material other than oak.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Gardeners’ Chronicle |
Date: | [before 25 July 1857] |
Classmark: | Gardeners’ Chronicle and Agricultural Gazette, 25 July 1857, p. 518 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-2127 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … columns. I have a well 325 feet deep, and the 12-gallon bucket actually weighs 40 lbs. For …
To Gardeners’ Chronicle [before 10 January 1852]
Summary
Asks readers of Gardeners’ Chronicle whether they have experience with light wire rope instead of chain in drawing water buckets from deep wells. Describes the problem of his own well with its 325 foot chain.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Gardeners’ Chronicle |
Date: | [before 10 Jan 1852] |
Classmark: | Gardeners’ Chronicle and Agricultural Gazette, no. 2, 10 January 1852, p. 22 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-1470 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … each end, a strong and heavy bucket, holding 12 gallons. The rope would have to work over, …
From David Taylor Fish to Gardeners’ Chronicle 8 May 1869
Summary
Discusses CD’s paper ‘Formation of mould’ and CD’s views on earthworms.
Author: | David Taylor Fish |
Addressee: | Gardeners’ Chronicle |
Date: | 8 May 1869 |
Classmark: | Gardeners’ Chronicle and Agricultural Gazette (1869): 501 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-6736F |
Matches: 1 hit
- … Edited by James A. H. Murray, et al. 12 vols. and supplement. Oxford: Clarendon Press. …
To Gardeners’ Chronicle 3 January [1877]
Summary
Suggests that the scarcity of holly berries is owing to the scarcity of bees during the spring, rather than to frost. He does not know what caused the scarcity of bees.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Gardeners’ Chronicle |
Date: | 3 Jan [1877] |
Classmark: | Gardeners’ Chronicle, 6 January 1877, p. 19 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-10769 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … see also ibid. , letters to J. D. Hooker, 12 January [1858] and 23 February [1858] ). He …
To Gardeners’ Chronicle and Agricultural Gazette [27 March 1844]
Summary
Writes to correct a statement made in his 1837 paper "On the formation of mould" [Collected papers 1: 49–53]. He should have said that marl was put on the field 30 years ago, not 80. Observations made on a visit to the field showed that worms had undermined the marl spread on the field at a faster rate than previously reported.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Gardeners’ Chronicle |
Date: | [27 Mar 1844] |
Classmark: | Gardeners’ Chronicle and Agricultural Gazette, no. 14, 6 April 1844, p. 218 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-743 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … of cinders and burnt marl, at from 10 to 12 inches. I found this lowest layer wherever I …
To Gardeners’ Chronicle 21 May [1855]
Summary
Reports on his experiments on action of sea-water on seeds and the bearing of his investigations on the theory of centres of creation and Edward Forbes’s theory of continental extensions to account for distribution of organic forms. CD’s experiments confirm germination powers were retained after 42 days’ immersion by seven out of eight kinds of seeds.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Gardeners’ Chronicle |
Date: | 21 May [1855] |
Classmark: | Gardeners’ Chronicle and Agricultural Gazette, no. 21, 26 May 1855, pp. 356–7 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-1684 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … has grown somewhat less well after 28 days. (12) Linum usitatissimum: only one seed out of …
To Gardeners’ Chronicle [4–5 June 1860]
Summary
Wants to hear from readers about the way in which the bee-orchid (Ophrys apifera) is fertilised. He has always found it to be self-fertilised but greatly doubts that the flowers of any plant are fertilised for generations by their own pollen. The bee-orchid has sticky glands, which would make it adapted for fertilisation by insects; this makes him want to hear what happens to its pollen-masses in places he has not observed.
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Gardeners’ Chronicle |
Date: | [4 or 5] June 1860 |
Classmark: | Gardeners’ Chronicle and Agricultural Gazette, 9 June 1860, p. 528 |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-2826 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … Orchis maculata with 44 flowers open, the 12 upper ones, which were not quite mature, had …
letter | (13) |
Darwin, C. R. | (12) |
Fish, D. T. | (1) |
Gardeners’ Chronicle | (13) |
Darwin, C. R. | (12) |
Fish, D. T. | (1) |
Lost in translation: From Auguste Forel, 12 November 1874
Summary
You receive a gift from your scientific hero Charles Darwin. It is a book that contains sections on your favourite topic—ants. If only you had paid attention when your mother tried to teach you English you might be able to read it. But you didn’t, and you…
Matches: 1 hits
- … barely understand a word. Writing in French on 12 November 1874 to thank Darwin for the …
Darwin’s hothouse and lists of hothouse plants
Summary
Darwin became increasingly involved in botanical experiments in the years after the publication of Origin. The building of a small hothouse - a heated greenhouse - early in 1863 greatly increased the range of plants that he could keep for scientific…
Matches: 9 hits
- … Correspondence vol. 10, letter to J. D. Hooker, 12 [December 1862] and n. 13). Initially, …
- … Stove [that is, cool hothouse]’ ( Correspondence vol. 12, letter to J. D. Hooker, 26[–7] March …
- … of different temperatures’ (letter to W. C. Tait, 12 and 16 March [1869] , Calendar no. 6661) …
- … 100 yards’ to the greenhouses ( Correspondence vol. 12, letter to J. D. Hooker, [25 January …
- … in mid-February (see letter from L. C. Treviranus, 12 February 1863 ). The second list is …
- … Anoectochilus argenteus 12 5 s . …
- … punctatum. 11. Mormodes aurantiaca 12. ‘Anoectochilus argenteus 5 s .’ deleted in …
- … Bolbophyllum barbigerum 12 major …
- … Ampelidae. 11. Alloplectus chrysanthus. 12. Bulbophyllum barbigerum. 13. …
Darwin in letters, 1879: Tracing roots
Summary
Darwin spent a considerable part of 1879 in the eighteenth century. His journey back in time started when he decided to publish a biographical account of his grandfather Erasmus Darwin to accompany a translation of an essay on Erasmus’s evolutionary ideas…
Matches: 12 hits
- … Seventy years old Darwin’s seventieth birthday on 12 February was a cause for international …
- … and good as could be’ ( letter from Karl Beger, [ c. 12 February 1879] ). The masters of …
- … ). The botanist and schoolteacher Hermann Müller wrote on 12 February to wish Darwin a ‘long and …
- … well, and with little fatigue’ ( letter to G. H. Darwin, 12 July 1879 , and letter from Leonard …
- … ever about life of D r . D’ ( letter to Francis Darwin, 12 July [1879] ). It was little …
- … Thiselton-Dyer, 5 June 1879 , and letter to G. H. Darwin, 12 July 1879 ). Darwin’s final task …
- … inn ‘ very comfortable’, but told Leonard Darwin on 12 August that there were ‘too many human …
- … not to have come up when the Darwins lunched with him on 12 August (Darwin’s ‘Journal’). Nor did …
- … the world. At the end of the year he was awarded a prize of 12,000 francs by the Turin Academy of …
- … which greatly pleased Darwin ( letter from Grant Allen, 12 February 1879 ). One of Allen’s targets …
- … engagement being made public ( letter from T. H. Farrer, 12 October 1879 ). Darwin’s response not …
- … accurate in its treatment’ ( letter from Francis Galton, 12 November 1879 ). The comment that …
Darwin in letters, 1874: A turbulent year
Summary
The year 1874 was one of consolidation, reflection, and turmoil for Darwin. He spent the early months working on second editions of Coral reefs and Descent of man; the rest of the year was mostly devoted to further research on insectivorous plants. A…
Matches: 11 hits
- … (letters from George Cupples, 21 February 1874 and 12 March 1874 ); the material was …
- … the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii; letters from T. N. Staley, 12 February 1874 and 20 February 1874 …
- … was published in November 1874 ( letter from R. F. Cooke, 12 November 1874 ). Though containing …
- … print runs would be very good ( letter from R. F. Cooke, 12 November 1874 ). Darwin's …
- … Review & in the same type’ ( letter from John Murray, 12 August 1874 ). George’s letter …
- … he finally wrote a polite, very formal letter to Mivart on 12 January 1875 , refusing to hold any …
- … & snugness’ ( letter from Emma Darwin to J. B. Innes, 12 October [1874] ). More …
- … vicar of Deptford ( letter from Emma Darwin to J. B. Innes, 12 October [1874] ), but to her …
- … mechanism that Darwin agreed with ( letter to F. J. Cohn, 12 October 1874 ). Darwin’s American …
- … bank with enormous tips to his ears ( letter from Asa Gray, 12 May 1874 ). The Manchester …
- … excellent, & as clear as light’ ( letter to John Tyndall, 12 August [1874] ). Hooker …
1.2 George Richmond, marriage portrait
Summary
< Back to Introduction Few likenesses of Darwin in his youth survive, although more may once have existed. In a letter of 1873 an old Shrewsbury friend, Arthur Mostyn Owen, offered to send Darwin a watercolour sketch of him, painted many years…
Matches: 1 hits
- … < Back to Introduction Few likenesses of Darwin in his youth survive, although more …
Darwin in letters, 1881: Old friends and new admirers
Summary
In May 1881, Darwin, one of the best-known celebrities in England if not the world, began writing about all the eminent men he had met. He embarked on this task, which formed an addition to his autobiography, because he had nothing else to do. He had…
Matches: 6 hits
- … made a small omission ’. Stephen’s reply on 12 January was flattering, reassuring, and …
- … books being ‘a game of chance’ ( letter to R. F. Cooke, 12 April 1881 ). On 18 May he described …
- … Darwin had difficulty in obtaining mature plants. On 12 April, he reported to Müller , ‘I have …
- … to make me happy & contented,’ he told Wallace on 12 July , ‘but life has become very …
- … fight’ (letters to J. D. Hooker, 6 August 1881 and 12 August 1881 ). Darwin may have …
- … else’s judgment on the subject ( letter to A. R. Wallace, 12 July 1881 ). However, some requests …
Darwin's in letters, 1873: Animal or vegetable?
Summary
Having laboured for nearly five years on human evolution, sexual selection, and the expression of emotions, Darwin was able to devote 1873 almost exclusively to his beloved plants. He resumed work on the digestive powers of sundews and Venus fly traps, and…
Matches: 3 hits
Darwin in letters, 1862: A multiplicity of experiments
Summary
1862 was a particularly productive year for Darwin. This was not only the case in his published output (two botanical papers and a book on the pollination mechanisms of orchids), but more particularly in the extent and breadth of the botanical experiments…
Matches: 6 hits
- … Hooker: ‘he is no common man’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 12 [December 1862] ). Two sexual …
- … of the year, he wrote to Hooker ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 12 [December 1862] ): ‘my notions on …
- … least 3 classes of dimorphism’ ( letter to Daniel Oliver, 12 [April 1862] ), and experimenting to …
- … passed so miserable a nine months’ ( letter to W. D. Fox, 12 September [1862] ). A family …
- … ‘Botany is a new subject to me’ ( letter to John Scott, 12 November [1862] ), but, impressed by …
- … into Tyndall’s ears’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 10–12 November [1862] ). Another of Darwin’s …
German and Dutch photograph albums
Summary
Darwin Day 2018: To celebrate Darwin's 209th birthday, we present two lavishly produced albums of portrait photographs which Darwin received from continental admirers 141 years ago. These unusual gifts from Germany and the Netherlands are made…
Matches: 1 hits
- … their generous sympathy. ( Letter to A. A. van Bemmelen, 12 February 1877 ) View the …
Darwin in letters, 1875: Pulling strings
Summary
‘I am getting sick of insectivorous plants’, Darwin confessed in January 1875. He had worked on the subject intermittently since 1859, and had been steadily engaged on a book manuscript for nine months; January also saw the conclusion of a bitter dispute…
Matches: 5 hits
- … than insectivorous plants. As he confessed to Hooker on 12 December , ‘I have not felt so angry …
- … from his family, he sent a curt note to Mivart on 12 January , breaking off all future …
- … of a bill that was presented to the House of Commons on 12 May, one week after a rival bill based on …
- … The author, Fritz Schultze, contacted Darwin himself on 12 June , describing the aims of his book …
- … scientific Socy. has done in my time,’ he told Hooker on 12 December . ‘I wish that I knew what …
Darwin in letters, 1878: Movement and sleep
Summary
In 1878, Darwin devoted most of his attention to the movements of plants. He investigated the growth pattern of roots and shoots, studying the function of specific organs in this process. Working closely with his son Francis, Darwin devised a series of…
Matches: 3 hits
Diagrams and drawings in letters
Summary
Over 850 illustrations from the printed volumes of The Correspondence of Charles Darwin have been added to the online transcripts of the letters. The contents include maps, diagrams, drawings, sketches and photographs, covering geological, botanical,…
Matches: 1 hits
- … Rubiaceae with enclosures containing bud samples, 12 May 1878 G. H. Darwin's …
Darwin in letters, 1869: Forward on all fronts
Summary
At the start of 1869, Darwin was hard at work making changes and additions for a fifth edition of Origin. He may have resented the interruption to his work on sexual selection and human evolution, but he spent forty-six days on the task. Much of the…
The Lyell–Lubbock dispute
Summary
In May 1865 a dispute arose between John Lubbock and Charles Lyell when Lubbock, in his book Prehistoric times, accused Lyell of plagiarism. The dispute caused great dismay among many of their mutual scientific friends, some of whom took immediate action…
Darwin’s queries on expression
Summary
When Darwin resumed systematic research on emotions around 1866, he began to collect observations more widely and composed a list of queries on human expression. A number of handwritten copies were sent out in 1867 (see, for example, letter to Fritz Muller…
Darwin in letters, 1847-1850: Microscopes and barnacles
Summary
Darwin's study of barnacles, begun in 1844, took him eight years to complete. The correspondence reveals how his interest in a species found during the Beagle voyage developed into an investigation of the comparative anatomy of other cirripedes and…
Cross and self fertilisation
Summary
The effects of cross and self fertilisation in the vegetable kingdom, published on 10 November 1876, was the result of a decade-long project to provide evidence for Darwin’s belief that ‘‘Nature thus tells us, in the most emphatic manner, that she abhors…
Matches: 3 hits
Henrietta Darwin's diary
Summary
Darwin's daughter Henrietta kept a diary for a few momentous weeks in 1871. This was the year in which Descent of Man, the most controversial of her father's books after Origin itself, appeared, a book which she had helped him write. The small…
Darwin in letters, 1856-1857: the 'Big Book'
Summary
In May 1856, Darwin began writing up his 'species sketch’ in earnest. During this period, his working life was completely dominated by the preparation of his 'Big Book', which was to be called Natural selection. Using letters are the main…
Matches: 3 hits
Darwin & Glen Roy
Summary
Although Darwin was best known for his geological work in South America and other remote Beagle destinations, he made one noteworthy attempt to explain a puzzling feature of British geology. In 1838, two years after returning from the voyage, he travelled…