From Edward Blyth 1 October 1868
Summary
Gives CD a reference to one of his papers ["Remarks on the modes of variation of nearly affined species or races of birds", J. Asiat. Soc. Bengal 19 (1850): 221–9]
and discusses moulting in birds.
Quotes instance of an action by an elephant that apparently displays considerable intelligence.
| Author: | Edward Blyth |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 1 Oct 1868 |
| Classmark: | DAR 160: 223 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-6406 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … three elephants were attacked by the party. Chapman wounded one of them, and writes—“But …
From Edward Blyth 4 August 1855
Summary
Sends a skeleton of a Bengal jungle cock.
Has never heard of trained otters breeding in captivity.
Introduced domestic rabbits are confined to the ports of India.
Canaries and other tame finches and thrushes brought into India do not breed well.
Origin of the domestic canary. Tendency of domesticated birds to produce "top-knot" varieties.
The tame geese of lower Bengal are hybrids; those of upper Bengal are said to be pure Anser cygnoides.
Wild Anser cinereus occur in flocks in the cold season.
Discusses at length different breeds of domestic cats and possible wild progenitors. Wild and domestic cats occasionally interbreed. The Angora variety breeds freely with the common Bengal cat and all stages of intermediates can be found.
Believes pigeons have been bred in India since remote antiquity.
Discusses whether mankind is divided into races or distinct species.
[CD’s notes are an abstract of this letter.]
| Author: | Edward Blyth |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 4 Aug 1855 |
| Classmark: | DAR 98: A69–A78 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-1735 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … he sent back word that he thought the party already too numerous, & could on no account …
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…
Anne Schlabach Burkhardt (1916–2012)
Summary
Anne Burkhardt was associated with the Darwin Correspondence Project from its beginning in 1974, and her contribution to its work helped ensure the regular publication of the volumes of correspondence. Anne was born in La Crosse, Wisconsin, and studied…
Matches: 1 hits
- … it became positively dangerous to attend Bennington cocktail parties, for even the slightest hint of …
Darwin in letters, 1877: Flowers and honours
Summary
Ever since the publication of Expression, Darwin’s research had centred firmly on botany. The year 1877 was no exception. The spring and early summer were spent completing Forms of flowers, his fifth book on a botanical topic. He then turned to the…
Matches: 1 hits
- … composed specially for the occasion. He avoided dinner parties and used his spare time to scout …
St George Jackson Mivart
Summary
In the second half of 1874, Darwin’s peace was disturbed by an anonymous article in the Quarterly Review suggesting that his son George was opposed to the institution of marriage and in favour of ‘unrestrained licentiousness’. Darwin suspected, correctly,…
Matches: 1 hits
- … be attended to by requiring a clean bill of health in both parties before marriage, and ultimately …
Darwin in letters, 1821-1836: Childhood to the Beagle voyage
Summary
Darwin's first known letters were written when he was twelve. They continue through school-days at Shrewsbury, two years as a medical student at Edinburgh University, the undergraduate years at Cambridge, and the of the voyage of H.M.S. Beagle.…
Matches: 1 hits
- … at the botanical lectures, excursions, and undergraduate parties organised by the professor of …
Darwin’s first love
Summary
Darwin’s long marriage to Emma Wedgwood is well documented, but was there an earlier romance in his life? How was his departure on the Beagle entangled with his first love? The answers are revealed in a series of flirtatious letters that Darwin was…
Matches: 1 hits
- … visiting Brighton in January 1828 and attending balls and parties almost every night. They show how …
Darwin and vivisection
Summary
Darwin played an important role in the controversy over vivisection that broke out in late 1874. Public debate was sparked when the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals brought an unsuccessful prosecution against a French physiologist who…
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…
Satire of FitzRoy's Narrative of the Voyages of the Adventure and Beagle, by John Clunies Ross. Transcription by Katharine Anderson
Summary
[f.146r Title page] Voyages of the Adventure and Beagle Supplement / to the 2nd 3rd and Appendix Volumes of the First / Edition Written / for and in the name of the Author of those / Volumes By J.C. Ross. / Sometime Master of a…
Matches: 6 hits
- … that time – the frequent predatory excursions of minor parties of Indians have prevented the …
- … was settled in full independence of Mr H’s dictation – parties of them resorted to him with …
- … as many as might come to him to beg for it – as the former parties had done – [ f.184v p.76 ] …
- … by any other designation than “Excursions” of picnic ^parties^ “on pleasure bent” &c. …
- … been drawn up for us – by able and disinterested third parties – than draw these for one another – …
- … ] Arbitrator between both parties – but felt disposed to lean to the …
Animals, ethics, and the progress of science
Summary
Darwin’s view on the kinship between humans and animals had important ethical implications. In Descent, he argued that some animals exhibited moral behaviour and had evolved mental powers analogous to conscience. He gave examples of cooperation, even…
Matches: 1 hits
- … teaching under certain conditions, but the Bill left many parties unsatisfied and the controversy …
Fake Darwin: myths and misconceptions
Summary
Many myths have persisted about Darwin's life and work. Here are a few of the more pervasive ones, with full debunking below...
Matches: 1 hits
- … Many myths have persisted about Darwin's life and work. Here are a few of the more pervasive ones, …
Was Darwin an ecologist?
Summary
One of the most fascinating aspects of Charles Darwin’s correspondence is the extent to which the experiments he performed at his home in Down, in the English county of Kent, seem to prefigure modern scientific work in ecology.
Matches: 1 hits
- … an earlier passage, describes it as a race from which both parties benefit. Nowadays, we are …
Darwin’s reading notebooks
Summary
In April 1838, Darwin began recording the titles of books he had read and the books he wished to read in Notebook C (Notebooks, pp. 319–28). In 1839, these lists were copied and continued in separate notebooks. The first of these reading notebooks (DAR 119…
Matches: 1 hits
- … . In Castelnau, Francis de, Expédition dans les parties centrales de l’Amérique du Sud … …
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: 1 hits
- … Darwin spent over a month corresponding with the various parties, repeatedly revising his own letter …
