Summary

Asks GHD to look in William Thomson’s book [W. Thomson and P. G. Tait, Treatise on natural philosophy, vol. 1 (1867)] to see how many million years ago Thomson says earth’s crust solidified. CD is troubled by "brevity of the world", because pre-Silurian creatures must have lived during endless ages "else my views wd be wrong, which is impossible – Q.E.D.".

Summary

CD relays the advice of Sir W. R. Grove on the dismal prospects of a law career.

Summary

He and another Bencher of Lincoln’s Inn have signed the necessary certificates for admission of CD’s son [George].

Summary

Discusses how they might enquire about any provisions in the laws of partnership concerning lunacy.

Summary

Thanks GHL for his support of Pangenesis.

Summary

Sends news of his and Frank’s doings at Cambridge.

Summary

There are so many doubtful points on the problems relating to sterility that they will never agree.

Summary

Wants to know why Horace has been removed from school without any notification.

Summary

On problem of sterility, CD cannot persuade himself that it has been gained by natural selection.

On sexual selection and minute variations, he tends to agree with ARW. Sends George Darwin’s notes on ARW’s argument.

Summary

Discusses law versus engineering and business as a career.

Supposes ARW will have "squashed" GHD’s criticisms of his notes on sterility.

Summary

FG’s congratulations [on publication of Variation] have given CD pleasure.

Trusts that FG is well again.

Summary

Observations on bees’ biting holes in Lathyrus.

Suggests an experiment FD could carry out with Drosera.

CD is working on Mimosa, and "everything has turned out as perversely as possible".

Summary

On sterility of natural species and natural selection. Closely allied forms from adjacent islands offer best chance of finding good species fertile inter se.

Problem of minute variations and sexual selection.

Summary

Visiting W. D. Fox.

Sends specimen of Cardamine pratensis,

and an account of a striped horse.

Discusses Pangenesis.

Has returned to religion and has been reflecting on God’s mercies, one of which CD should remember from about 1828 at Bodnant.

Summary

Sends abstract of his views on change of climate and a copy of a paper.

Summary

Congratulations on success of CD’s son [George].

Summary

Gratified by CD’s approval of his articles, which the public has not much liked.

Clarifies the obscure sentence CD criticised – forms having a different genesis can be similar.

Calls CD’s attention to Kovalevsky’s memoir on Amphioxus [Mem. Acad. Imp. Sci. St.-Pétersbourg 7th ser. 11 (1868) no.4]. K’s views are all in favour of CD’s and against GHL’s.

Summary

Bishop J. W. Colenso supports his old contention that the Kaffirs (including Zulus of South Africa) are Negroes.

[Horace Waller’s] The last journals of David Livingstone [in central Africa (1874)] cites CD’s plant research and has many facts "for Darwin".

Summary

Thanks GHD for clear lecture on heat.

Will keep paper on proportion of sexes, in case GHD wants it again.

Wants him to translate some pages of Swedish or Norwegian sent by A. W. Malm, "a good man".

Glad to see the statistical paper ["Theory of exchange value", Fortn. Rev. n.s. 17 (1875): 243–53].

Summary

Is working on new edition of Origin [5th (1869)].

Asks JDH’s assistance on a problem posed by Nägeli on morphological differences that are of no utility to plants and hence could not be selected. CD wants to show that these differences do not support the idea of progressive development as Nägeli suggests.

Owen pitches into CD and Lyell in third volume of Anatomy of vertebrates [1866–8].