Summary

Remarks that each of two species of Fagus separated by 1000 miles has a fungus that grows on it; the fungus species are probably closely allied.

Summary

Asks if he can bring his guests, J. C. L. and Mme [Simonde de] Sismondi and [Fanny] Allen, to CB’s parties.

Summary

CD relates that Robert Brown is anxious to have [C. M.] Leman[n] elected librarian of the Linnean Society and urges JSH to come to vote for him. CD joins in the request.

Summary

CD is led to believe there are no true permanently inbreeding, sexually reproducing beings. Thanks for replies to breeding questions.

Asks for clarification of Hippeastrum crosses: is selfing or crossing with individual of same species intended and was increased fertility due to constitution of foreign parent or due to the pollen coming from another plant? Has WH known any hybrid or mongrel to revert or to vary in a manner unlikely to be effect of soil?

Sends Journal of researches.

Summary

Encloses maize seeds.

Has heard of a butterfly with pollinia of Platanthera stuck to it.

Comments on AG’s notes ["Dimorphism in the genitalia of flowers", Am. J. Sci. 2d ser. 34 (1862): 149–50].

"Precocious fertilisation".

Summary

Profit on Erasmus Darwin is £9 15s 5d. Sends cheque. 218 copies remain unsold.

Summary

Sleep in Porlieria studied.

Oats begin germinating.

Summary

Is elated by his work on the alteration in the earth’s axis and the displacement of the poles. [See 10689.]

Summary

Letter of introduction to CD for CLB’s friend Robert S. Rowley.

Summary

Island life continues to stimulate: Wallace ignores effects of glaciers on alpine flora and generally exaggerates those of débâcles and wind dispersal. CD encourages JDH to prepare a geographical address including history of geographical distribution.

Summary

Thanks for Agassiz’s Lectures. Lyell does not believe a word about glacial action of any kind in lowlands of Brazil. Agassiz’s view of glacial movement has been given up by physicists.

Summary

Promises answers to CD queries on dogs.

Enclosure 1: G. A. Graham responds to CD’s questions (transmitted by GC) on greyhound breeding and proportion of sexes reared.

Enclosure 2: J. W. Robertson’s general rule has been to preserve male deerhound puppies in preference to females.

Enclosure 3: Proportion of sexes in dog litters [for Descent, 2d ed.] from W. Forbes.

Summary

Sends a copy [missing] of a lecture by L. Agassiz on glaciers.

Claims worker wasps can generate additional workers in the absence of the fertile female.

Summary

Sends corrections for Descent.

Summary

JDH on John Scott.

Curious about the rationale of pollen prepotence.

Working on variation in New Zealand flora.

Summary

Thanks AD-P for the gift of part of his Atlas [see 11039].

Summary

Thanks RDF for a part of his book [Australian orchids, vol. 1 (1875–82)]; suggests further observations RDF could make and defends some of his own conclusions.

Summary

On Asa Gray’s letter; has written why he avoids alluding to the war.

Has read Max Müller [see 3752] – last part unphilosophical.

On CD’s pigeon example, long-beaked and short-beaked pigeons must be either sterile or not inter se. There is "no such thing as Equality – hence no such thing as chance and Nat. Sel. is the sword of Damocles hanging over your head if you make a slip in your premisses."

Has read note on Lythrum sent several weeks ago. Its consequences are of most prolific order to CD’s doctrine.

Kew has no wild gooseberries.

JDH praises the Saturday Review reply [14 (1862): 589] to the Duke of Argyll’s bitter review of Orchids ["The supernatural", Edinburgh Rev. 116 (1862): 378–97].

Summary

Discusses exchange of photographs with German scientists.

Comments on attitudes of German scientists toward CD’s theory.

Names several scientists who exchanged photographs: Braun, Virchow, Leydig, and Dohrn.

Summary

Gives details of some crossing experiments with Eschscholzia.

Describes the grass Streptochaeta, which FM believes to be a primitive grass.

Relates some observations on maize that are well explained by Pangenesis.