Summary

John Scott has arrived in Calcutta and has been given an appointment by Thomas Anderson.

Summary

Pleased at receiving CD’s letter.

HWB informs him of favourable notice of the mimetic paper [in Wiegmann’s Arch. Naturgesch. 29 (1863) pt 2: 315–19].

He is pleased with his post [Asst. Sec. of Royal Geographical Society].

Summary

Sends papers with comments. Convinced that the Aru pig is a species peculiar to New Guinea fauna, not a domestic animal that ran wild.

Admires CD’s paper ["Three forms of Lythrum", Collected papers 2: 106–31].

Summary

Falconer’s illness and suffering. His great ability and knowledge.

CD’s paper ["Climbing plants"] went extremely well [at Linnean Society]. M. T. Masters and Bentham commented.

Summary

MTM heard part of the abstract of CD’s paper on climbing plants, read at the Linnean Society on 2 Feb. Offers CD his opinion and information on the subject, which he has studied for many years.

Summary

Sends a pamphlet and photograph to CD [missing];

announces a botanical congress at Erfurt at which CD’s theory will be discussed.

Summary

Why botanists will not subscribe to Falconer’s bust with enthusiasm.

Scott has been offered curatorship at Calcutta Botanic Garden.

Summary

On a proposed meeting of friends of the deceased Hugh Falconer to decide on a memorial to him. Invites CD’s support.

Summary

Will arrive Saturday [4 Mar] on afternoon train.

Summary

Sends his paper on "Willow-galls" [Proc. Entomol. Soc. Philadelphia 3 (1864): 543–644].

Lengthy criticism of Agassiz’s views on species as stated in his Essay on classification [1857].

Interested by CD’s trimorphism in Lythrum. Thinks some great mystery may lie in the fact that in some genera, some species are tri-, some di-, and some monomorphic, and in other genera, Apis, Vespa, Bombus, all the known species are dimorphic.

Summary

Requests a postponement of payment on a note for £100.

Summary

Thanks CD for his consideration in meeting his convenience respecting the payment of the £100.

Summary

Thomas Thomson has gone over Scott’s paper; encloses his conclusions. Not fit for publication in present form. His experiments should have been repeated to resolve his disagreement with Gärtner.

Summary

Admires Origin, but CD does not consider hereditary law of use and disuse.

Summary

Will return page on pigeons.

Has concluded his crossing experiments and found no trace of hybrid sterility or loss of fertility.

The Field is publishing a series of papers on different pigeon varieties [24 (1864): 366, 395, 459; 25 (1865): 115, 139, 155, 228, 258].

Summary

Encloses some poultry feathers.

Will read over and return CD’s MS on fowls. Has been delayed by an eye injury.

Summary

Introduces Cholmondely Pennell of the Admiralty, who wants to speak to CD about a literary matter.

Summary

CD’s statement in Origin that clover is utterly dependent on humble-bee for fertilisation has been questioned by his friend’s evidence of visits by other insects. Asks CD’s opinion.

Summary

JL’s MS at printer’s [Prehistoric times (1865)].

Apologises for failure to post letter.

Summary

Expresses pleasure at signs of CD’s recovery.

HWB’s work on the identification of species of the genus Colobthea; relates the large number of modifications that occur in the sexual organs of closely allied species. Does not doubt that this contributes greatly to multiplication of species in nature.