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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: 18 hits

  • … is to lessen injury to leaves from radiation In 1878, Darwin devoted most of his …
  • … is to lessen injury to leaves from radiation’, he wrote to Hooker on 25 March ; ‘this has …
  • … plants.’ Movement in plants In the spring of 1878, Darwin started to focus on the …
  • … or arched.… Almost all seedlings come up arched’ ( letter to Sophy Wedgwood, 24 March [1878–80] ). …
  • … when he finds out that he missed sensitiveness of apex’ ( letter to Francis Darwin, [11 May 1878] …
  • … Darwin complained. ‘I am ashamed at my blunder’ ( letter to John Tyndall, 22 December [1878] ). …
  • … accursed German language: Sachs is very kind to him’ ( letter to W. T. Thiselton-Dyer, 18 June …
  • … have nobody to talk to, about my work, I scribble to you ( letter to Francis Darwin, 7 [July 1878] …
  • … on the object, but he will always do so’ ( letter to G. J. Romanes, 20 August [1878] ). Darwin …
  • … a monkey & a baby in your house!’ ( letter to G. J. Romanes, 2 September [1878] ). More …
  • … to play the part of a thieving wasp’ ( letter from G. J. Romanes, 21 June 1878 ). An …
  • … where his work had been more controversial ( letter from J.-B. Dumas and Joseph Bertrand, 5 August …
  • … and leaves Moses to take care of himself ’ ( letter from J. B. Innes, 1 December 1878 ). Darwin …
  • … European crop (see Correspondence vol. 3, letter to J. S. Henslow, 28 October [1845] ). He …
  • … the matter be presented to the duke of Richmond ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 28 [February 1878] ). …
  • … he made a fool of himself at Belfast,’ Darwin wrote to Hooker on 3 or 4 March . ‘I have often …
  • … oddest thing that ever happened to me’, Darwin wrote to Hooker on 14 December. Mindful of the lack …
  • … That pecunious old couple of Worthing’ ( letter from J. D. Hooker, 14 December 1878 ). …

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: 16 hits

  • be done by observation during prolonged intervals’ ( letter to D. T. Gardner, [ c . 27 August
  • pleasures of shooting and collecting beetles ( letter from W. D. Fox, 8 May [1874] ).  Such
  • Andone looks backwards much more than forwards’ ( letter to W. D. Fox, 11 May [1874] ). …
  • was an illusory hope.— I feel very old & helpless’  ( letter to B. J. Sulivan, 6 January [1874] …
  • inferred that he was well from his silence on the matter ( letter from Ernst Haeckel, 26 October
  • to believe in such rubbish’, he confided to Joseph Dalton Hooker ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 18
  • that Mr Williams wasa cheat and an imposter’ ( letter from T. H. Huxley, 27 January 1874 ). …
  • the publishers, he applied first to his friend Joseph Dalton Hooker, and finally borrowed one from
  • for misinterpreting Darwin on this point ( letter from J. D. Dana, 21 July 1874 ); however, he did
  • … ‘Im a grown man now’, he reminded Darwin, ‘& sh d . stand on my own footing, & if it is
  • Mivart (see  Correspondence  vol. 20, letter to St G. J. Mivart, 11 January [1872] ). To Darwin
  • views. In December, he sought advice from Huxley and Hooker, sending them a draft letter that
  • Mivart had written the article ( enclosure to letter from J. D. Hooker, 21 December 1874 ). Huxley
  • to write to Mivart directly after he knew the full result of Hookers and Huxleys representations ( …
  • 15 th  he published that shabby rejoinder’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 24 December [1874] ).  On
  • M. M. Radovanović, 17 September 1874 ), which appeared in 1878. Books and articles were

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: 17 hits

  • his results. In March 1867, he told his close friend Joseph Hooker, ‘The only fact which I have
  • produced by a cross between two distinct plants’ ( To JDHooker, 17 March [1867] ). He noted
  • of France where Moggridge lived for part of the year ( To JTMoggridge, 1 October [1867] ). …
  • … ‘I always supposed until lately that no evil effects w d  be visible until after several
  • flower. ‘How utterly mysterious it is’, he reported to Hooker, ‘that there sh d  be some
  • to impotence when taken from the same plant!’ ( To JDHooker, 21 May [1868] ) Pollen tubes, or
  • Darwin sent specimens of plants he raised from this seed to Hooker, who named it Abutilon darwinii
  • a new species, & I am honoured by its name’, Darwin told Hooker, ‘It offers an instance, of
  • the season it becomes capable of self-fertilisation’ ( To JDHooker, 23 July [1871] ). Darwin
  • … ). When Darwin began writing in February 1873, he asked Hooker for names of families of several
  • … & I have no idea when it will be published’ ( To JVCarus, 8 May [1873] ). Hermann Müller
  • and not onthe evil effects of Interbreeding’ ( To JVCarus, 2 August [1873] ). In
  • … & Trimorphic plants with new & related matter. ( To JVCarus, 19 March [1874] ). A year
  • … ‘I have to add new researches on this subject. ( To JVCarus   7 February 1875 ). In fact, …
  • the 34 crossed plants being still taken as 100.? I sh drather like to know what the general
  • ARWallace, 13 December 1876 ). No reply to this letter has been found, but Darwin had long
  • A. W. Rimpau, 10 December 1877 ). By the end of February 1878, Murray was ready to print the second

Darwin in letters, 1882: Nothing too great or too small

Summary

In 1882, Darwin reached his 74th year Earthworms had been published the previous October, and for the first time in decades he was not working on another book. He remained active in botanical research, however. Building on his recent studies in plant…

Matches: 20 hits

  • … ‘I feel a very old man, & my course is nearly run’ ( letter to Lawson Tait, 13 February 1882 ) …
  • … fertility of crosses between differently styled plants ( letter from Fritz Müller, 1 January 1882 …
  • … François Marie Glaziou (see Correspondence vol. 28, letter from Arthur de Souza Corrêa, 20 …
  • … quite untirable & I am glad to shirk any extra labour’ ( letter to G. J. Romanes, 6 January …
  • … probably intending to test its effects on chlorophyll ( letter to Joseph Fayrer, 30 March 1882 ). …
  • … we know about the life of any one plant or animal!’ ( letter to Henry Groves, 3 April 1882 ). He …
  • … of seeing the flowers & experimentising on them’ ( letter to J. E. Todd, 10 April 1882 ). …
  • … find stooping over the microscope affects my heart’ ( letter to Henry Groves, 3 April 1882 ). …
  • … sooner or later write differently about evolution’ ( letter to John Murray, 21 January 1882 ). The …
  • … leaves into their burrows ( Correspondence vol. 29, letter from J. F. Simpson, 8 November 1881 …
  • … on the summit, whence it rolls down the sides’ ( letter from J. F. Simpson, 7 January 1882 ). The …
  • … light on it, which would have pleased me greatly’ ( letter from J. H. Gilbert, 9 January 1882, …
  • … desires, grant us this our modest request!’ ( letter from J. L. Ambrose, 3 April 1882 ). Darwin …
  • … news to his closest friends. She wrote to Joseph Dalton Hooker the day after Darwin’s death. ‘Our …
  • … were never very violent’ ( letter from Emma Darwin to J. D. Hooker, [20 April 1882] ). In …
  • … of your objections to my views, when we meet’ ( letter to J. S. Henslow, 29 January [1860] ). …
  • … experiments. Francis went to Germany in the summer of 1878 for more experience in physiological …
  • … this to you’ ( letter to Francis Darwin, [1 August 1878] ). The last years also saw Darwin …
  • … and Earthworms , pp. 221–8). Darwin resumed contact in 1878. On receiving Darwin’s letter, …
  • … at wormbs”’ ( letter from Mary Johnson, [after 22 July 1878] ).   Edition complete …

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: 24 hits

  • had considered combining the works in a single volume ( letter to J. V. Carus, 7 February 1875 ). …
  • son Francis worked in this laboratory in the summers of 1878 and 1879,  he encountered some of the
  • the phenomenon. A few days later, Darwin wrote to Joseph Hooker, ‘ Why are the leaves & fruit
  • injure the leaves? if indeed this is at all the case ’. Hooker, who had also speculated on the
  • on  Mimosa albida from Kew Gardens, he explained to Hooker, ‘ I have never syringed (with tepid
  • whether they are coated with a waxy secretion ’. He told Hooker, ‘ I have been looking over my old
  • … , a plant that exhibited all three types of movement ( letter from RILynch, [before 28 July
  • night & we have made out a good deal ’, but confiding to Hooker, ‘ We have been working like
  • …  movements of leaves ’. He confirmed this view to Hooker, ‘ From what Frank & I have seen, I
  • he reported some progress in understanding movement, telling Hooker, ‘ I think we have  proved
  • Movement in plants , p. 179. In May 1878, Darwin had pointed out the importance of
  • was asked to send any spare seeds he might have. ‘ I sh dlike to see how the embryo breaks
  • his experiments on the function of bloom. By December 1878, Darwin was thinking about the
  • the woodblock using photography for scientific accuracy ( letter from JDCooper13 December
  • lost colour, withered, and died within a couple of days ( letter from A. F. Batalin28 February
  • how their observations could have been so much at odds ( letter to Hugo de Vries 13 February 1879
  • the botanist Gaetano Durando, to find plants and seeds ( letter to Francis Darwin, [4 February8
  • only the regulator & not cause of movement ’. In the same letter, Darwin discussed terminology, …
  • … ‘ I am very sorry that Sachs is so sceptical, for I w drather convert him than any other half
  • do  not  when cauterised bend geotropically & why sh d  we say this is owing to injury, when
  • of his annual family holiday telling his close friend Hooker, ‘ I have been working pretty hard of
  • … ). Hooker offered to write to Egypt for the seeds (From JDHooker   29 November 1879; DCP-LETT
  • without any nervous system! I think that such facts sh dbe kept in mind, when speculating on
  • Eduard Koch had already agreed to publish it ( letter from JVCarus18 September 1880 ). The

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: 26 hits

  • his publishers, he warned that it wasdry as dust’ ( letter to R. F. Cooke, 9 September 1879 ). …
  • turned out, alas, very dull & has disappointed me much’ ( letter to Francis Galton, 15 [June
  • home again’, he fretted, just days before his departure ( letter to W. T. Thiselton-Dyer, [after 26
  • many blessings, was finding old agea dismal time’ ( letter to Henry Johnson, 24 September 1879 ) …
  • Darwin had written: ‘The worst thing I find now is this dnd old age, which creeps slily upon one, …
  • itself, or gone some other way round?’ At least the last letter of 1879 contained a warmer note and
  • office to complete Horaces marriage settlement ( letter from W. M. Hacon, 31 December 1879 ). …
  • but they wereas nice and good as could be’ ( letter from Karl Beger, [ c. 12 February 1879] ) …
  • on your lifes work, which is crowned with glory’ ( letter from Ernst Haeckel, 9 February 1879 ). …
  • to wish Darwin along and serene evening of life’. This letter crossed with one from Darwin, …
  • the statementIn the beginning was carbon’ ( letter from Hermann Müller, 14 February 1879 ). …
  • as theorgan ofuncultivated materialism”’ ( letter from Francis Darwin, [after 2 June 1879 ]). …
  • up the glory & would please Francis’, he pointed out ( letter from E. A. Darwin, 13 March [1879
  • wholly & shamefully ignorant of my grandfathers life’ ( letter to Ernst Krause, 14 March 1879
  • admiration of his grandfather: ‘The more I read of Dr. D. the higher he rises in my estimation.’ …
  • it, leaving Darwinmore perplexed than ever about life of D r . D’ ( letter to Francis Darwin, …
  • … ). Francis in Würzburg As he had done in 1878, Francis Darwin spent the summer of 1879
  • which is his profession thonot a profitable one; also D r  C[lark]’s opinion that he was so
  • when the acorns failed to ripen, Darwin had to ask Joseph Hooker to come to his rescue by sending
  • scarlet oak: ‘to be planted in my honour!’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 4 November [1879] ). While in
  • knowledgeobservation & experiment’ ( letter from J. F. Moulton, 10 December 1879 ). In reply
  • image of the frog be published in Nature ( letter to J. N. Lockyer, 4 and 6 March [1879] ). …
  • and his family to the Riviera for the summer ( letter to G. J. Romanes, 23 July 1879 ). Allen, who
  • prospects were precarious. Darwin contacted Joseph Hooker on 17 December to ask his opinion: ‘I
  • been saved from amistake & mess’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 19 December [1879] ). The German
  • cross-fertilisation, had first contacted Darwin in 1876. By 1878, Darwin was sufficiently impressed

Darwin in letters, 1876: In the midst of life

Summary

1876 was the year in which the Darwins became grandparents for the first time.  And tragically lost their daughter-in-law, Amy, who died just days after her son's birth.  All the letters from 1876 are now published in volume 24 of The Correspondence…

Matches: 21 hits

  • … ‘my wife … poor creature, has won only 2490 games’ ( letter to Asa Gray, 28 January 1876 ). …
  • … quantity of work’ left in him for ‘new matter’ (letter to Asa Gray, 28 January 1876). The …
  • … to a reprint of the second edition of Climbing plants ( letter from R. F. Cooke, 23 February …
  • … & I for blundering’, he cheerfully observed to Carus. ( Letter to J. V. Carus, 24 April 1876. …
  • … provided evidence for the ‘advantages of crossing’ (letter to Asa Gray, 28 January 1876). Revising …
  • … year to write about his life ( Correspondence vol. 23, letter from Ernst von Hesse-Wartegg, 20 …
  • … nowadays is evolution and it is the correct one’ ( letter from Nemo, [1876?] ). …
  • … him ‘basely’ and who had succeeded in giving him pain ( letter to A. R. Wallace, 17 June 1876 ). …
  • … for 3 February, Darwin reassured his close friend Joseph Hooker that he and Francis would attend the …
  • … disgrace’ of blackballing so distinguished a zoologist ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 29 January 1876 ) …
  • … must have been cast by the ‘poorest curs in London’ ( letter to W. T. Thiselton-Dyer, [4 February …
  • … her questions were ‘too silly to deserve an answer’ ( letter from S. B. Herrick, 12 February 1876 …
  • … results in this year’s experiments’ ( letter from G. J. Romanes, [ c . 19 March 1876] ). A less …
  • … by the mutual pressure of very young buds’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 21 June [1876] ). Darwin …
  • … researcher, and sympathised with his close friends Joseph Hooker and Asa Gray, whose situations …
  • … Darwin wrote to Gray on 28 January . On 14 November, Hooker himself acknowledged he was ‘ over …
  • … paper was ‘not worthy of being read ever’ ( letter from J. D. Hooker, 28 January 1876 ). Darwin …
  • … anyone who wrote a lot, but the novelty soon wore off and in 1878 the machine was given away. …
  • … of illness & misery there is in the world’ ( letter to W. D. Fox, 26 May [1876] ). A …
  • … he will do I cannot conceive’, Darwin wrote anxiously to Hooker on 11 September. By the time …
  • … Hildebrand, 6 December 1876 , and letter from F. J. Cohn, 31 December 1876 ). To Darwin’s …

George Eliot (Mary Ann Evans)

Summary

George Eliot was the pen name of celebrated Victorian novelist Mary Ann Evans (1819-1880). She was born on the outskirts of Nuneaton in Warwickshire and was educated at boarding schools from the age of five until she was 16. Her education ended when she…

Matches: 4 hits

  • … become her partner for the next 25 years, until his death in 1878. Lewes was already married but …
  • … visitors (23 March 1873; Emma described his visit in a letter to Fanny Allen, [26 March 1873], DAR …
  • … it too hot and left before the manifestations started ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 18 January [1874] …
  • … (Emma Darwin’s diary (DAR 242) and Charles Darwin’s letter to Francis Darwin, [1 May 1876] ). …

'An Appeal' against animal cruelty

Summary

The four-page pamphlet transcribed below and entitled 'An Appeal', was composed jointly by Emma and Charles Darwin (see letter from Emma Darwin to W. D. Fox, [29 September 1863]). The pamphlet, which protested against the cruelty of steel vermin…

Matches: 12 hits

  • … was composed jointly by Emma and Charles Darwin (see letter from Emma Darwin to W. D. Fox, [29 …
  • … of the pamphlet in August and September 1863 (see letter from G. B. Sowerby Jr to Emma Darwin, 22 …
  • … 1863, pp. 821–2, under the title `Vermin and traps' ( Letter no. 4282). The wording of the …
  • … and to 'a good many persons Squires Ladies & MPs' (see letter from Emma Darwin to W. D …
  • … more success with the campaign than she expected (see the letter from Emma Darwin to William Erasmus …
  • … involved no more cruelty than the possible alternatives (see letter from E. L. Darwin, 7 September …
  • … to the RSPCA in 1852 for working horses with sore necks (see letter from Emma Darwin to William …
  • … threatened to report a similar case of cruelty in 1866 (see letter to [Local landowner], [1866], …
  • … 1854 to 1861, in 1863 and 1864, from 1871 to 1875, and in 1878 and 1880 (CD’s Classed account books …
  • … , pp. 44, 54–5, 78, and Correspondence vol. 2, letter to W. D. Fox, 28 August [1837]). Later he …
  • … E. Darwin, 22 [September 1858], and this volume, letter to J. B. Innes, 1 September [1863]). …
  • … been identified; however, see letter from Emma Darwin to W. D. Fox, 8 December [1863]. Only two …

New material added to the American edition of Origin

Summary

A ‘revised and augmented’ American edition of Origin came on the market in July 1860, and was the only authorised edition available in the US until 1873. It incorporated many of the changes Darwin made to the second English edition, but still contained…

Matches: 20 hits

  • Soon after Origin was published, Darwin received a letter from Asa Gray offering to arrange an
  • Darwin responded favourably to Grays proposal in his letter of 21 December [1859] ( Correspondence
  • way toward publishing the book. Indeed, by early in January D. Appleton & Co. had Origin in
  • Acting on Darwins behalf, Gray duly contacted D. Appleton to inquire about authors copyright and
  • … [17 January 1860], and 23 January 1860). Although D. Appleton was not obliged by United
  • had been fixed through the process of stereotyping (see letter from Asa Gray, 23 January [1860] and
  • changed his mind. On 31 January he told Joseph Dalton Hooker that he was preparing ahistorical
  • of species; Darwin sent this off to Gray enclosed in his letter of [8 or 9 February 1860]. He had
  • … [1860] and 1 February [1860]). A month later, in his letter of 8 March [1860], Darwin sent
  • … (especially that given by Hewett Cottrell Watson in his letter of [3? January 1860]) that Darwin
  • changes he intended to make in the American edition in the letter to Lyell, 18 [and 19 February 1860
  • corrected Second Edition with additional corrections” (letter to Asa Gray, 1 February [1860]). …
  • the only one available in the United States until 1873, when D. Appleton prepared a new edition
  • prejudices. In 1846, the veteran geologist, M. J. dOmalius dHalloz, published in an
  • du monde, la forme, le volume et la durée de chacun deux, en raison de sa destinée dans lordre de
  • edition of this work was published. In December, 1859, Dr. Hooker published his Introduction to the
  • inordinate increase of specific forms throughout the world. Hooker has recently shown that in the S. …
  • having read the discussions on this subject by Lyell and by Hooker in regard to plants, concur only
  • 2 Origin , p. 83. 3 Origin , pp. 187–8. This phrase and the following, longer
  • of Origin ( Origin 3d ed., pp. 3636). See also letter from John Lubbock, [after 28 April