To Nature 13 November [1869]
Summary
Comments on A. W. Bennett’s letter [Nature 1 (1869): 58] on fertilisation of winter-flowering plants. CD used net, not a bell-glass to cover Lamium.
Refers to F. Delpino’s observations on fertilisation of grasses; CD is glad to say these observations are compatible with "the very general law that distinct individual plants must be occasionally crossed".
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Nature |
| Date: | 13 Nov [1869] |
| Classmark: | Nature 1 (1869): 85 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-6987 |
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…
Matches: 27 hits
- … At the start of 1869, Darwin was hard at work making changes and additions for a fifth edition …
- … that is something’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, [22 January 1869] ). Much of the remainder of …
- … to be the case’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 13 January 1869 ). Hooker went straight to a crucial …
- … probable’ (see also letter to A. R. Wallace, 22 January [1869] , and letter from A. R. Wallace, …
- … in distribution’ ( letter to James Croll, 31 January [1869] ). Darwin had argued ( Origin , pp. …
- … formation’ ( letter to James Croll, 31 January [1869] ). Croll could not supply Darwin with an …
- … have got that yet’ ( letter from James Croll, 4 February 1869 ). Darwin did not directly …
- … towards [Thomson]’ ( letter to T. H. Huxley, 19 March [1869] ). Towards Descent …
- … ‘everlasting old Origin’ ( letter to Asa Gray, 1 June [1869] ), he was able to return to work on …
- … ( letter from Robert Elliot to George Cupples, 21 June 1869 ). Details on mating behaviour …
- … in the garden ( letter from Frederick Smith, 8 October 1869 ). Albert Günther, assistant in the …
- … varieties ( letter to W. B. Tegetmeier, 25 February [1869] ). The data contined to …
- … cocks & hens.—’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 13 November [1869] ). Yet completion of the work was …
- … for Descent . Researching emotion In 1869, Darwin still expected that Descent …
- … hatred—’ ( from Asa Gray and J. L. Gray, 8 and 9 May [1869] ). James Crichton-Browne and …
- … ( enclosure to letter from Henry Maudsley, 20 May 1869 ). Darwin had often complained of the …
- … in regard to Man’ ( letter to A. R. Wallace, 14 April 1869 ). More remarkable still were Wallace …
- … seem to you like some mental hallucination’ ( 18 April 1869 ). Since his marriage to Annie …
- … (Wallace 1869a; letter to A. R. Wallace, 22 March [1869] ), and scolded him for again being too …
- … demands justice’ ( letter to A. R. Wallace, 14 April 1869 ). Proceeding on all fronts …
- … South American cordillera ( letter to Charles Lyell, 20 May 1869 ), and fossil discoveries in …
- … investigated in depth ( letter from C. F. Claus, 6 February 1869 ). In a letter to the Gardeners …
- … of the soil ( letter to Gardeners’ Chronicle , 9 May [1869] ). In March, Darwin received …
- … in the early 1860s ( letter to W. C. Tait, 12 and 16 March 1869 ). This research contributed to …
- … 1869 ). Problems of design and purposefulness in nature had been alluded to in a more …
- … Much more influential in the long term, however, was Nature , the first issue of which appeared …
- … periodicals’, he wrote to Hooker, regretting only that Nature did not review more foreign …
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…
Matches: 13 hits
- … corporal punishment and not the susceptibilities of a moral nature.” Darwin did not typically …
- … online ahead of schedule as part of the “Darwin and Human Nature” project, funded by the Arts and …
- … Crichton-Browne, James 20 May 1869 32 Queen Anne St. …
- … Crichton-Browne, James 19 May 1869 West Riding …
- … Gray, Asa 9 May [1869] [Alexandria, Egypt] …
- … Gray, Jane 9 May [1869] [Alexandria, Egypt] …
- … Gray, Asa 8 & 9 May 1869 Florence, Italy (about …
- … King, P.G. 25 Feb 1869 Sydney, Australia …
- … Maudsley, Henry 20 May 1869 32 Queen Anne St. …
- … Reade, Winwood W. 17 Jan 1869 Sierra Leone, Africa …
- … Reade, Winwood W. 28 June [1869] Sierra Leone, …
- … Reade, Winwood W. 26 Dec 1869 Sierra Leone, Africa …
- … Scott, John 2 July 1869 Royal Botanic Gardens, …
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: 10 hits
- … project to provide evidence for Darwin’s belief that ‘‘Nature thus tells us, in the most emphatic …
- … of self-fertility over subsequent generations. In June 1869, Müller remarked, on receiving a new …
- … sometimes depends’ ( From Fritz Müller, 15 June 1869 ). By May 1870, Darwin reported that he was …
- … Müller ( To Fritz Müller, 28 November 1868 ). In March 1869, Müller reported results of …
- … pod were mutually sterile ( From Fritz Müller, 14 March 1869 ). ‘The case of the Abutilon sterile …
- … of this plant sent by Müller ( To Fritz Müller, 18 July [1869] ). Darwin sent specimens of plants …
- … ). In September, Darwin wrote a long letter to Nature commenting on a seemingly unrelated …
- … exposed to slightly different conditions of life’ ( To Nature , 20 September [1873] ). Just as …
- … by other plants with which they grow mingled in a state of nature’ ( To J. H. Gilbert, 16 February …
- … your Cross & Self Fertilization & about to review it for “Nature”— he gloats over it' ( …
Moral Nature
Summary
In Descent of Man, Darwin argued that human morality had evolved from the social instincts of animals, especially the bonds of sympathy and love. Darwin gathered observations over many decades on animal behavior: the heroic sacrifices of social insects,…
Women’s scientific participation
Summary
Observers | Fieldwork | Experimentation | Editors and critics | Assistants Darwin’s correspondence helps bring to light a community of women who participated, often actively and routinely, in the nineteenth-century scientific community. Here is a…
Matches: 5 hits
- … Letter 6736 - Gray, A. & J. L to Darwin, [8 & 9 May 1869] Jane Loring Gray, …
- … Williams , M. S. to Darwin, H. E., [after 14 October 1869] Darwin’s niece, Margaret, …
- … responds to a letter of Darwin’s which was published in Nature with some observations of her …
- … Letter 6815 - Scott, J. to Darwin, [2 July 1869] John Scott responds to Darwin’s …
- … - Darwin to Gunther, A. C. L. G., [21 September 1869] Darwin asks Gunther for “a great …
Suggested reading
Summary
Contemporary writing Anon., The English matron: A practical manual for young wives, (London, 1846). Anon., The English gentlewoman: A practical manual for young ladies on their entrance to society, (Third edition, London, 1846). Becker, L. E.…
Matches: 5 hits
- … A. L. B., Studies in general science , (New York, 1869). Buckley, A., The fairy-land …
- … 1863). Landells, W., True manhood: its nature, foundation and development , (London, …
- … M., On molecular and microscopic science , (London, 1869). Treat, M., ‘ Is the valve …
- … , (Yale, 1995). Gianquitto, M., ' Good observers of nature’: American women and the …
- … B., Victorian popularizers of science: Designing nature for new audiences (Chicago, 2007). …
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: 9 hits
- … also contributed to discussions in the scientific weekly Nature on the role of inherited and …
- … off, & most of them sold!” Reviews remarked on the popular nature of the book. Full of …
- … Darwin received a letter from John Traherne Moggridge on the nature of animal instinct. Moggridge, …
- … Darwin soon became involved in a related discussion in Nature magazine, forwarding a letter from …
- … fearful of butchers and butcher’s shops ( letter to Nature , [before 13 February 1873] ). …
- … triggered by smell. Darwin joined the debate, writing to Nature ( letter to Nature , [before …
- … after he had smashed some with his finger ( letter to Nature , [before 3 April 1873] ). …
- … by seeing the corpses of a fellow species” ( letter to Nature , [before 24 July 1873] ). …
- … line of research he had begun with Hereditary genius (1869), Galton tried to establish the …
Rewriting Origin - the later editions
Summary
For such an iconic work, the text of Origin was far from static. It was a living thing that Darwin continued to shape for the rest of his life, refining his ‘one long argument’ through a further five English editions. Many of his changes were made in…
Matches: 4 hits
- … standard of science’ ( to Charles Layton, 24 November [1869] ). From the 3 rd edition on …
- … published, 1866 5 th English edition published, 1869 6 th English edition …
- … on the fifth edition from Boxing Day 1868 until February 1869. Among the changes were stories about …
- … had argued for an innate tendency to perfectibility in nature based on his view that plant species …
2.6 Adolf von Hildebrand bust
Summary
< Back to Introduction In 1873, the German biologist Anton Dohrn commissioned a plaster bust of Darwin for the ‘fresco room’ of his new research centre, the Stazione Zoologica in Naples. It was a fitting memorial of a long association between the two…
Matches: 5 hits
- … articles and reports on the progress of the project in Nature, and his speech at the official …
- … 30 Nov. 1867: DCP-LETT-5701. Dohrn to Darwin, 30 Dec. 1869: DCP-LETT-7038, and Darwin’s reply, 4 Jan …
- … Anton Dohrn, ‘The foundation of zoological stations’, Nature 5 (8 Feb. 1872), pp. 277–280, and …
- … . . . promoting the Foundation of Zoological Stations’, Nature 6 (29 August 1872), pp. 362–363. …
- … ‘Inauguration of the Zoological Station of Naples’, Nature 12 (6 May 1875), pp. 11–13. Dohrn, …
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: 8 hits
- … ( letter from T. H. Huxley, 14 April 1874 ). The technical nature of Huxley’s argument prompted …
- … generous Darwin by his previous anonymous attacks ([Mivart] 1869; 1871c). In his review, Mivart …
- … a source of inspiration. In April, he wrote a letter to Nature, observing that the flowers of …
- … primroses were abundant in each district ( letter to Nature , 18 April [1874] ). He …
- … M. Story-Maskelyne, 4 May 1874 ). In a second letter to Nature , Darwin summarised the …
- … blindfolded from the moment of being hatched ( letter to Nature , 7 and 11 May [1874] ; …
- … with the contraction of Dionaea leaves in Nature (Burdon Sanderson 1874). Hooker also …
- … ). He featured in the scientific worthies series in Nature ( letter to J. N. Lockyer, 13 May …
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: 9 hits
- … thin slices, yet are found to differ greatly in the nature of their contents, if immersed for …
- … A lecture by Robert Stawell Ball that was printed in Nature declared George ‘the discoverer of …
- … all the breeds from India & China. Any assistance of this nature would be invaluable; but I know …
- … he attracted many admirers in German-speaking countries. In 1869, his birthday was celebrated by an …
- … vol. 17, letter from F. M. Malven, 12 February [1869] ). An extract from Darwin’s reply to Malven …
- … with his’ ( letter to F. M. Malven, [after 12 February 1869] ). Accompanying this extract was the …
- … some of whom drew substantially on his theory. In 1869, Hermann Müller (brother to Fritz) sent …
- … theory to flowers and flower-visiting insects; H. Müller 1869)). Darwin was full of admiration and …
- … seems to me a much more difficult point from its graduated nature: some time ago my son, Mr G. …
Race, Civilization, and Progress
Summary
Darwin's first reflections on human progress were prompted by his experiences in the slave-owning colony of Brazil, and by his encounters with the Yahgan peoples of Tierra del Fuego. Harsh conditions, privation, poor climate, bondage and servitude,…
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: 8 hits
- … of man and Huxley’s Evidence as to man’s place in nature both had a direct bearing on Darwin’s …
- … of man and Huxley’s Evidence as to man’s place in nature directly confronted experts and non …
- … in 1863. From Shropshire, where Darwin first began observing nature, he was invited to become an …
- … for every plant, and stated that there must then be ‘in nature, a deeper seated and innate principle …
- … VI). However, when Evidence as to man’s place in nature was published in February 1863, Huxley …
- … IV). Darwin continued to investigate the true nature of sterility, a question he had been …
- … in other flowers, provided evidence for his assertion that nature ‘abhors perpetual self …
- … ‘It was indeed one of the strongest feelings in his nature, and was exemplified in matters small and …
Darwin in letters,1870: Human evolution
Summary
The year 1870 is aptly summarised by the brief entry Darwin made in his journal: ‘The whole of the year at work on the Descent of Man & Selection in relation to Sex’. Descent was the culmination of over three decades of observations and reflections on…
Matches: 3 hits
2.2 Thomas Woolner metal plaque
Summary
< Back to Introduction In Benedict Read’s account of the work of Thomas Woolner in Pre-Raphaelite Sculpture, there is a reference to a ‘bronze medallion of Darwin . . . catalogued in Woolner’s studio in February 1913 (lot 123), which was presumably…
Matches: 3 hits
Francis Galton
Summary
Galton was a naturalist, statistician, and evolutionary theorist. He was a second cousin of Darwin’s, having descended from his grandfather, Erasmus. Born in Birmingham in 1822, Galton studied medicine at King’s College, London, and also read mathematics…
Matches: 3 hits
2.1 Thomas Woolner bust
Summary
< Back to Introduction Thomas Woolner’s marble bust of Darwin was the first portrayal of him that reflected an important transition in his status in the later 1860s. In the 1840s–1850s Darwin had been esteemed within scientific circles as one among…
Matches: 6 hits
- … as the subversive author of Origin of Species ; but by 1869 Darwin had gained public fame as a …
- … brotherhood, dedicated to the greatest possible truth to nature in art. His busts of the famous, …
- … Darwin’, and signed on the side ‘T. Woolner sc./ London 1869’. Woolner was a cultured …
- … Thomas Woolner date of creation 1868–1869 computer-readable date 1868-11-01 …
- … 26 Nov. 1868: DCP-LETT-6476. George Darwin to Darwin, 6 Feb. 1869: DCP-LETT-6604. ‘Royal Academy: …
- … Read and Joanna Barnes (eds), Pre-Raphaelite Sculpture: Nature and Imagination in British …
Science: A Man’s World?
Summary
Discussion Questions|Letters Darwin's correspondence show that many nineteenth-century women participated in the world of science, be it as experimenters, observers, editors, critics, producers, or consumers. Despite this, much of the…
Descent
Summary
There are more than five hundred letters associated with the research and writing of Darwin’s book, Descent of man and selection in relation to sex (Descent). They trace not only the tortuous route to eventual publication, but the development of Darwin’s…
Matches: 4 hits
- … new publication, Evidence as to man’s place in nature, and his reaction could not have been in …
- … large ’, and ‘ everlasting ’. By October 1869, eighteen months after had begun to write it, he …
- … chance to ‘ have a say so much ’. In October 1869 John Murray advertised a forthcoming ‘New …
- … On Expression of the Emotions’ ( Academy , 9 October 1869, pp. 15–16). By June 1870 Darwin had …
Interview with John Hedley Brooke
Summary
John Hedley Brooke is President of the Science and Religion Forum as well as the author of the influential Science and Religion: Some Historical Perspectives (Cambridge University Press, 1991). He has had a long career in the history of science and…
Matches: 16 hits
- … in spiritualism. He first writes to Darwin about this in 1869, and this is exactly the same time …
- … what the real entities are in the universe. Is the world of nature simply a collection of material …
- … we have aesthetic appreciation: we can appreciate beauty in nature, we have mathematical skills, we …
- … if you suggested there were other agencies at work in nature. So I do see a certain parallel there. …
- … that the affirmation of some kind of intelligence behind nature once was constitutive of scientific …
- … whether it has had a very interesting history, both through nature and through human interactions …
- … it were, a progressively more refined understanding of the nature of God. And that process of …
- … first primordial forms, or indeed in setting up the laws of nature so that human beings would …
- … a flea, or something of that kind. This participation in nature was certainly emphasised by many …
- … was supposed to be intimately involved in the affairs of nature. So you have the very …
- … reverence for you, whom I look upon as the High priest of nature. But the Church would condemn me to …
- … in which there had originally been a theological response to nature, then a more metaphysical …
- … were certainly able to do. Those kinds of responses to nature need not be obliterated by scientific …
- … enable us to get into a more serious discussion about: how nature should be interpreted; how we gain …
- … certainly still meant knowledge, or provisional knowledge of nature. Or probable knowledge of …
- … some kind of divine initiative in interactions with nature. There’s even evidence that Newton …
