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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: 20 hits

  • kingdom , published on 10 November 1876, was the result of a decade-long project to provide
  • on plants with two or three different forms of flowers, Darwin had focused on the anatomical and
  • of different forms of pollen. Although many plants that Darwin observed had flowers with adaptations
  • rates, growth, and constitutional vigour. Although Darwin was no stranger to long months and years
  • … … is highly remarkableIn September 1866, Darwin announced to the American botanist
  • several years ( To Édouard Bornet, 1 December 1866 ). Darwin began a series of experiments, …
  • … ( To Edouard Bornet, 20 August [1867] ). It was only after a new season of experiments that Darwin
  • access to flowers was only the tip of the iceberg. Darwin next focused on the California
  • unnoticed, had it existed in all individuals of such a common garden plant. Perhaps in the case of
  • of these seeds to Müller, hoping that he wouldraise a plant, cover it with a net, & observe
  • seeds of Ipomœa. I remember saying the contrary to you & M r  Smith at Kew. But the result is
  • I am already plagued by foreign Translators, Reviewers, &c.’ ( To John Murray, 4 May [1873] ). …
  • the set of all my works, I would suggest 1,500’ ( To R. F. Cooke, 16 September 1876 ). In the
  • of plants.’ ( From Friedrich Hildebrand, 18 January 1877 ). Hermann Müller enthused that Darwins
  • 16 December 1876 ). One critical review came from Alfred Wallace, who complained, ‘I am afraid this
  • of hybrids, has not yet been produced’ ( From ARWallace, 13 December 1876 ). No reply to this
  • my book’ ( To  GardenersChronicle , 19 February [1877] ). In contrast, as Hooker told Darwin, …
  • gloats over it' ( From JDHooker, 27 January 1877 ). Darwin was especially pleased with
  • have quite eviscerated it’ ( To Asa Gray, 18 February [1877] ). By mid-March 1877, the edition was
  • index a little altered’ ( To R. F. Cooke, 11 December [1877] ). These changes were necessitated by

Dramatisation script

Summary

Re: Design – Adaptation of the Correspondence of Charles Darwin, Asa Gray and others… by Craig Baxter – as performed 25 March 2007

Matches: 22 hits

  • Re: DesignAdaptation of the Correspondence of Charles Darwin, Asa Gray and othersby Craig
  • as the creator of this dramatisation, and that of the Darwin Correspondence Project to be identified
  • correspondence or published writings of Asa Gray, Charles Darwin, Joseph Dalton Hooker, Jane Loring
  • Actor 1Asa Gray Actor 2Charles Darwin Actor 3In the dress of a modern day
  • the environment in which the play unfolds and acting as a go-between between Gray and Darwin, and
  • indicate an edit in the original text not, necessarily, a pause in the delivery of the line. A
  • Jane the final days of Professor Asa Gray, Harvard Botanist. A series of strokes affect adversely
  • dinner, though there had seemed some threatening of a cold, but he pronounced himselfGRAY
  • quick breathing and some listlessness, so that he was nursed a little on FridayThat evening
  • him on the success of the treatment. There seemed a weakness of the right hand, which, however, …
  • friends in England, copies of hisReview of the Life of Darwin’… pencilling the address so that it
  • his Christian belief and Darwin discovers that Alfred Wallace has developed his own strikingly
  • of the package (an essay from New Guinea from Alfred Russel Wallace) throws Darwin into a fluster. …
  • of last year… /  Why I ask this is as follows: Mr Wallace who is now exploring New Guinea, has
  • will be smashed. …  49   [Yet] there is nothing in Wallaces sketch which is not written out
  • that I can do so honourably50   knowing that Wallace is in the field….  / It seems hard on
  • Dr GrayI shall be glad of your opinion of Darwin and Wallaces paper. GRAY:   58   …
  • on all hands. DARWIN65   My dear [Mr Wallace], I have told [my publisher] Murray
  • paragraph, in which I quote and differ from you[r178   doctrine that each variation has been
  • ARTS AND SCIENCES, PROCEEDINGS XVII, 1882 4  C DARWIN TO JD HOOKER 10 MAY 1848
  • TO A GRAY, 27 NOVEMBER 1859 65  C DARWIN TO A WALLACE, 13 NOVEMBER 1859 66  …
  • 1868 or 1869 190  C DARWIN TO A GRAY 8 MARCH 1877 191 A GRAY TO RW CHURCH, …

Have you read the one about....

Summary

... the atheistical cats, or the old fogies in Cambridge? We've suggested a few - some funny, some serious - but all letters you can read here.

Matches: 1 hits

  • … cats, or the old fogies in Cambridge? We've suggested a few - some funny, some serious - but …

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: 19 hits

  • There are summaries of all Darwin's letters from the year 1879 on this website.  The full texts
  • 27 of the print edition of The correspondence of Charles Darwin , published by Cambridge
  • the sensitivity of the tips. Despite this breakthrough, when Darwin first mentioned the book to his
  • to Francis Galton, 15 [June 1879] ). Even the prospect of a holiday in the Lake District in August
  • Darwin, despite his many blessings, was finding old agea dismal time’ ( letter to Henry Johnson, …
  • old age, which creeps slily upon one, like moss upon a tree, and wrinkles one all over like a baked
  • nice and good as could be’ ( letter from Karl Beger, [ c. 12 February 1879] ). The masters of
  • Virchows attempt to discredit evolutionary theory in 1877, assured him that his views were now
  • editor of the journal Kosmos , which had been founded in 1877 by Krause and others as a journal
  • of the Admiralty described the unknown young man asA M r Darwin grandson of the well known
  • him on 9 June not toexpend much powder & shot on M r  Butler’, for he really was not worth
  • and particularly the theory of natural selection in 1877) had previously told Krause, ‘He is a very
  • leaving Darwinmore perplexed than ever about life of D r . D’ ( letter to Francis Darwin, 12
  • the highest point, for hiswhy”—“what for” &c are incessant’, Darwin joked on 2 July (first
  • which is his profession thonot a profitable one; also D r  C[lark]’s opinion that he was so
  • greatly amused Darwin, who felt it wasvery acute of M r  Ruskin to know that I feel a deep & …
  • of laws he had received from Cambridge University in 1877. Emma Darwin recorded that Darwin found
  • February 1879 ). One of Allens targets was Alfred Russel Wallace, Darwins strongest critic on the
  • and preventCattle diseases, Potato diseases &c’, probably did not know that Darwin had already

Darwin in letters, 1864: Failing health

Summary

On receiving a photograph from Charles Darwin, the American botanist Asa Gray wrote on 11 July 1864: ‘the venerable beard gives the look of your having suffered, and … of having grown older’.  Because of poor health, Because of poor health, Darwin…

Matches: 22 hits

  • On receiving a photograph from Charles Darwin, the American botanist Asa Gray wrote on 11 July
  • … … of having grown older’. This portrait, the first of Darwin with his now famous beard, had been
  • of dimorphic plants with Williams help; he also ordered a selection of new climbing plants for his
  • 52 hours without vomiting!! In the same month, Darwin began to consult William Jenner, …
  • physician-in-ordinary to Queen Victoria. Jenner prescribed a variety of antacids and purgatives, and
  • the dimorphic aquatic cut-grass  Leersia . In May, Darwin finished his paper on  Lythrum
  • continued throughout the summer. When he finished a preliminary draft of his paper on climbing
  • and he received more letters of advice from Jenner. In a letter of 15 December [1864] to the
  • As Darwin explained to his cousin William Darwin Fox in a letter of 30 November [1864] , ‘the
  • arose over the grounds on which it was conferred, brought a dramatic conclusion to the year. Darwin
  • of dimorphic and trimorphic plants’), and later in his 1877 bookThe different forms of flowers on
  • in the second edition of  Orchids , published in 1877. These publications were partly inspired by
  • 5 September 1864 ). Fritz Müeller sent his bookFür Darwin , and Darwin had it translated by a
  • but Lyell says when I read his discussion in the Elements [C. Lyell 1865] I shall recant for fifth
  • the slavery practised in North America. Alfred Russel Wallace Unlike in the preceding
  • with very little commentary. However, when Alfred Russel Wallace sent him a copy of his recently
  • Some other readers were also aware of the significance of Wallaces paper as the first published
  • to J. D. Hooker, 22 [May 1864] ). He added that he wished Wallace had written Lyells section on
  • the question of human origins ( Correspondence vol. 11). Wallace, however, traced a possible path
  • by natural selection in humans, was new to Darwin. Wallaces paper dealt not only with human
  • that Darwin, who later endorsed monogenism, supported Wallaces attempt to mediate in the
  • on intellectual &ampmoral  qualities’ ( letter to A. R. Wallace, 28 [May 1864] ). …

Movement in Plants

Summary

The power of movement in plants, published on 7 November 1880, was the final large botanical work that Darwin wrote. It was the only work in which the assistance of one of his children, Francis Darwin, is mentioned on the title page. The research for this…

Matches: 20 hits

  • 7 November 1880was the final large botanical work that Darwin wrote. It was the only work in which
  • about their research while he was away from home. Although Darwin lacked a state of the art research
  • methods and use the most advanced laboratory equipment. Darwin also benefitted from the instrument
  • that Francis had been introduced to at Würzburg. Darwin described his experimental practice
  • plant physiology, but it was at its core informed by Darwins theory of evolution, particularly by
  • general law or systemIn the early 1860s, at a time when his health was especially bad, …
  • of climbing in all its forms. It was quickly reproduced as a small book, giving it a much wider
  • the topic within an evolutionary framework. He received a wealth of information from correspondents
  • at one point Darwin had considered combining the works in a single volume ( letter to J. V. Carus, …
  • was the plant equivalent of digestion or reflex action at a physiological level? Was there a
  • …   ‘Very curious resultsIn May 1877, Darwin asked one of his most trusted
  • … ‘ Frank & I are working very hard on bloom & sleep &c.; but I am horribly afraid all
  • that exhibited all three types of movement ( letter from RILynch, [before 28 July 1877] ). ‘ …
  • to learn about cutting thin sections of soft leaves &c.— Lastly the instrument for making marks
  • those of Gray, who had written an article on the subject in 1877 (A. Gray 1877e). Gray had reported
  • the curious mode of germinationand concluded, ‘ M r  Rattan seems to be a real good observer, …
  • orThe Nature of the Movements of Plants’ ( letter to R. F. Cooke23 April [1880] ). Cooke
  • was willing to publish on the usual terms ( letter from R. F. Cooke15 July 1880 ). This was also
  • pay more for at the usual rate of charging per inch &c they w dbe over £40’; he suggested
  • of the book, especially to non-botanists. He told Alfred Wallace, ‘ In 2 or 3 weeks you will

Darwin in letters, 1860: Answering critics

Summary

On 7 January 1860, John Murray published the second edition of Darwin’s Origin of species, printing off another 3000 copies to satisfy the demands of an audience that surprised both the publisher and the author. It wasn't long, however, before ‘the…

Matches: 21 hits

  • 7 January 1860, John Murray published the second edition of Darwins  Origin of species , printing
  • surprised both the publisher and the author. One week later Darwin was stunned to learn that the
  • But it was the opinion of scientific men that was Darwins main concern. He eagerly scrutinised each
  • critiques of his views. ‘One cannot expect fairness in a Reviewer’, Darwin commented to Hooker after
  • … ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 3 January [1860] ). Darwins magnanimous attitude soon faded, …
  • butunfairreviews that misrepresented his ideas, Darwin began to feel that without the early
  • …  smashed’ ( letter to T. H. Huxley, 3 July [1860] ). (A chronological list of all the reviews
  • list. Adam Sedgwick, not surprisingly, attacked the book on a number of fronts. But it was his
  • to J. S. Henslow, 8 May [1860] ). Above all else Darwin prided himself on having developed a
  • statement in his March review that natural selection was a hypothesis, not a theory, therefore also
  • … ‘It seems to me that an hypothesis is  developed  into a theory solely by explaining an ample lot
  • … ). To those who objected that his theory could not be a  vera causa,  he similarly stated thatit
  • it comes in time to be admitted as real.’ ( letter to C. J. F. Bunbury, 9 February [1860] ). This
  • issue of  Macmillans Magazine . Fawcett asserted that Darwins theory accorded well with John
  • readily admitted that his failure to discuss this point was amost serious omissionin his book
  • about global change. Darwin also knew that Lyell was a powerful potential ally. Indeed, the letters
  • selection. Even Huxley, an avowed supporter, proved a formidable critic. Huxley extolled the
  • inhabitants. Darwin agreed, for example, with Alfred Russel Wallaces assessment that the
  • science.’ As for why this should be so, he confided to Wallace: ‘I think geologists are more
  • chapter on pigeons (interrupted in 1858 by the receipt of Wallaces manuscript and the subsequent
  • different forms of flowers on plants of the same species  (1877). Plants that behave like

Natural Science and Femininity

Summary

Discussion Questions|Letters A conflation of masculine intellect and feminine thoughts, habits and feelings, male naturalists like Darwin inhabited an uncertain gendered identity. Working from the private domestic comfort of their homes and exercising…

Matches: 13 hits

  • Discussion Questions | Letters A conflation of masculine intellect and feminine
  • feminine powers of feeling and aesthetic appreciation, Darwin and his male colleagues struggled to
  • Letters Letter 109 - Wedgwood, J. to Darwin, R. W., [31 August 1831] Darwin
  • professional work on his return. Letter 158 - Darwin to Darwin, R. W., [8 & 26
  • are as alikeas two peasand his work fits neatly into a broader domestic routine made up of meals
  • published his findings both in Expression and in an 1877 article titled, ‘ A Biographical
  • had gathered and brought into the house immediately after a rain storm. Here, Darwins scientific
  • family life. Letter 4377 - Haeckel, E. P. A. to Darwin, [2 January 1864] …
  • March 1864] Darwin thanks Hooker for posting to him a number of plants to aid his work on
  • work, engage in thestruggle for lifeand becomea useful self-supportingmember of the public
  • believes that Scott ought to engage in drudgerylike a manandoccupy the rest of his time with
  • describes experiments he is undertaking in his home to test Wallaces theory that birds reject
  • on the bedroom wallpaper. Letter 10821 - Graham C. C. to Darwin, [30 January 1877] …

Darwin in letters, 1880: Sensitivity and worms

Summary

‘My heart & soul care for worms & nothing else in this world,’ Darwin wrote to his old Shrewsbury friend Henry Johnson on 14 November 1880. Darwin became fully devoted to earthworms in the spring of the year, just after finishing the manuscript of…

Matches: 23 hits

  • heart & soul care for worms & nothing else in this world,’ Darwin wrote to his old
  • to adapt to varying conditions. The implications of Darwins work for the boundary between animals
  • studies of animal instincts by George John Romanes drew upon Darwins early observations of infants, …
  • of evolution and creation. Many letters flowed between Darwin and his children, as he took delight
  • and observations. Financial support for science was a recurring issue, as Darwin tried to secure a
  • with Samuel Butler, prompted by the publication of Erasmus Darwin the previous year. …
  • life and other bits of family history. On 1 January , a distant cousin, Charles Harrison Tindal, …
  • about the eagerness of the two learned divines to see a pigs body opened is very amusing’, Darwin
  • character is of much value to me’ ( letter to C. H. Tindal, 5 January 1880 ). Darwin had employed
  • Darwins Life . ‘In an endeavour to explain away y r . treatment of [William Alvey Darwin],’ …
  • by anticipation the position I have taken as regards D r Erasmus Darwin in my book Evolution old
  • to the end’, added her husband Richard ( letter from R. B. Litchfield, 1 February 1880 ). Even the
  • the genus given by Gray in an article and textbook (A. Gray 1877 and A. Gray 1879, pp. 201). ‘I
  • shake their heads in the same dismal manner as you & M r . Murray did, when I told them my
  • in a book about beetles the impressive wordscaptured by C. Darwin”. … This seemed to me glory
  • … ‘but the subject has amused me’ ( letter to W. C. McIntosh, 18 June 1880 ). Members of the family
  • great doctrines …“Come of Age”‘ ( letter from W. C. Williamson to Emma Darwin, 2 September 1880 ). …
  • for the co-discoverer of natural selection, Alfred Russel Wallace. In the previous year, he had
  • Civil List pension, but Hooker was against it, fearing that Wallaces spiritualism and an ill-judged
  • from J. D. Hooker, 18 December 1879 ). For some years, Wallaces main source of income had been
  • without success. On 20 March , Darwin heard more about Wallaces plight from the geologist Alfred
  • with John Lubbock and Huxley and was encouraged about Wallaces prospects for a government pension. …
  • his voice as clearly as if he were present’ (letters to C. W. Fox, 29 March 1880 and 10 [April

Darwin in letters,1866: Survival of the fittest

Summary

The year 1866 began well for Charles Darwin, as his health, after several years of illness, was now considerably improved. In February, Darwin received a request from his publisher, John Murray, for a new edition of  Origin. Darwin got the fourth…

Matches: 17 hits

  • The year 1866 began well for Charles Darwin, as his health, after several years of illness, was now
  • all but the concluding chapter of the work was submitted by Darwin to his publisher in December. …
  • hypothesis of hereditary transmission. Debate about Darwins theory of transmutation
  • of special creation on the basis of alleged evidence of a global ice age, while Asa Gray pressed
  • the details of Hookers proposed talk formed the basis of a lengthy and lively exchange of letters
  • responded philosophically to these deaths, regarding both as a merciful release from painful illness
  • research on crustacean embryology, and Alfred Russel Wallaces conclusions on varieties and species
  • you go on, after the startling apparition of your face at R.S. Soirèewhich I dreamed of 2 nights
  • so you are in for it’ ( letter from H. E. Darwin, [  c . 10 May 1866] ). Henriettas
  • teleological development ( see for example, letter to C. W. Nägeli, 12 June [1866] ). Also in
  • common broom ( Cytisus scoparius ) and the white broom ( C. multiflorus ) in his botanical
  • and June on the subject of  Rhamnus catharticus  (now  R. cathartica ). Darwin had become
  • of separate sexes. William gathered numerous specimens of  R. catharticus , the only species of  …
  • Orchids  and papers on botanical dimorphism, Batess and Wallaces work on mimetic butterflies, and
  • selection, and with special creation ( letter from W. R. Grove, 31 August 1866 ). Hooker later
  • of transmutation theory during the year with Alfred Russel Wallace. They corresponded in February on
  • indeed at poor Susans loneliness’ ( letter from E. C. Langton to Emma and Charles Darwin, [6 and 7

Darwin in letters, 1863: Quarrels at home, honours abroad

Summary

At the start of 1863, Charles Darwin was actively working on the manuscript of The variation of animals and plants under domestication, anticipating with excitement the construction of a hothouse to accommodate his increasingly varied botanical experiments…

Matches: 18 hits

  • At the start of 1863, Charles Darwin was actively working on the manuscript of  The variation of
  • … , anticipating with excitement the construction of a hothouse to accommodate his increasingly varied
  • briefly’ ( letter to John Scott, 31 May [1863] ), and in a letter of 23 [June 1863] he wrote
  • am languid & bedeviled … & hate everybody’. Although Darwin did continue his botanical
  • letter-writing dwindled considerably. The correspondence and Darwins scientific work diminished
  • the correspondence from the year. These letters illustrate Darwins preoccupation with the
  • Evidence as to mans place in nature  both had a direct bearing on Darwins species theory and on
  • fromsome Quadrumanum animal’, as he put it in a letter to J. D. Hooker of 24[–5] February [1863] …
  • detailed anatomical similarities between humans and apes, Darwin was full of praise. He especially
  • in expressing any judgment on Species or origin of man’. Darwins concern about the popular
  • Lyells and Huxleys books. Three years earlier Darwin had predicted that Lyells forthcoming
  • had been rapidly accumulating. Lyells argument for a greater human antiquity than was commonly
  • from an ape-like animal, while dating human origins to a time far earlier than that decreed by
  • … ). Although English experts subsequently decided the jaw was a forgery, publications in learned
  • sentence from the second edition of  Antiquity of man  (C. Lyell 1863b, p. 469), published in
  • others listed were himself, Hooker, Huxley, Alfred Russel Wallace, and John Lubbock. Honours
  • very slowly recovering, but am very weak’ ( letter to A. R. Wallace, [29 September? 1863] ). …
  • Thomass Hospital, London ( letter from George Busk, [ c. 27 August 1863] ). Brinton, who

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: 16 hits

  • … lessen injury to leaves from radiation In 1878, Darwin devoted most of his attention to …
  • … in this process. Working closely with his son Francis, Darwin devised a series of experiments to …
  • … plant laboratories in Europe. While Francis was away, Darwin delighted in his role as …
  • … the mental faculties of the two-year-old with those of a monkey. Another diversion from botanical …
  • … agent of progress. The year closed with remarkable news of a large legacy bequeathed to Darwin by a …
  • … birthday ( letter to Ernst Haeckel, 12 February [1878] ), Darwin reflected that it was ‘more …
  • … Expression ), and the final revision of Origin (1872), Darwin had turned almost exclusively to …
  • … position assumed by leaves at night (nyctitropism) was a protection against heat loss. ‘I think we …
  • … me much & has cost us great labour, as it has been a problem since the time of Linnaus. But we …
  • … were enrolled as researchers, as were family members. Darwin asked his niece Sophy to observe …
  • … ( letter to Sophy Wedgwood, 24 March [1878–80] ). While Darwin was studying the function of …
  • … on one side, then another, to produce movement in the stalk. Darwin compared adult and young leaves …
  • … Record”’ ( letter from Edmund Mojsisovics von Mojsvár, 28 April 1878 ). ‘What a wonderful change …
  • … the German Association of Naturalists in September 1877, Darwin’s outspoken supporter Ernst Haeckel …
  • … that I shd die outright’, he remarked to Alfred Russel Wallace on 16 September , ‘if I had …
  • … to natural science & aids me in my work; a 4th son is in the R. Engineers & is getting on …