From W. E. Darwin 3 December [1880]
Summary
Description of remains of a Roman villa and the worm activity at the site.
| Author: | William Erasmus Darwin |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 3 Dec [1880] |
| Classmark: | DAR 162: 111 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-12885 |
Matches: 15 hits
- … often taken deep down into burrows & then may be reswallowed. ’ pencil 9.2 the … mould. …
- … 9.4] scored red crayon 9.2 mould and worm holes, 9.3] underl pencil and red crayon 9.4 …
- … since the Romans; I tried the depth of mould in two places about 4 yards from each other, …
- … 5 feet deep] double underl blue crayon 2.5 mould … a hard] underl blue crayon 3.3 tops … …
- … think it is over 5 feet deep in parts. The mould rests on a hard deep red compact sand, so …
- … spot of 15 inches in dept, and he said there was pure mould to within about 4 or 5 inches …
- … to top of walls, & then there was mixed mould and stones mortar and loose rubbish from the …
- … to be loose rubbish on top of them, but the mould on top did not appear to be so pure. Not …
- … saw by holes that had been dug that the mould was of a considerable depth therefore though …
- … all the castings I saw looked like pure mould. The proprietor of the part I was able to …
- … lumps of mortar; the interstices were full of mould and worm holes, and here & there was a …
- … mortar had to some extent been replaced by mould. Unfortunately I had no chance of seeing …
- … the castings appeared all to be of pure mould, and as the floors has so fairly kept their …
- … that the worms might be continually bringing up mould through the pavement, and that any …
- … by worms working from outside, so that the mould would rise on the pavement without much …
From W. E. Darwin [1 January 1872]
Summary
Worm action at Stonehenge.
| Author: | William Erasmus Darwin |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | [1 Jan 1872] |
| Classmark: | DAR 162: 105 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-8137 |
Matches: 10 hits
- … Earthworms : The formation of vegetable mould through the action of worms: with …
- … altered from ‘of what? mould? —’]’ inserted after ‘bottom’ 15.2 filled … inches] scored …
- … the shepherd … pipe. 12.8] ‘But why has more mould accumulated close to stone than at …
- … distance of 8 yards Did not block indent the mould? ’ added pencil 12.3 …
- … 10 inches] underl red crayon 12.3 into the mould] ‘ …
- … mould’ underl red crayon 12.4 full of worms] underl red crayon 12.6 8 yards] underl red …
- … bottom 13.3] ‘Is turf abruptly higher close to stones? ’ added pencil ; ‘of mould. ? — [ …
- … trowel I found that this was sunk at the spot I examined 10 inches into the mould (it was …
- … evidently worm mould v. full of worms); the shepherd said the earth had probably been …
- … inches to a foot, I found the depth of the mould above the mixed flint and chalk to be 5 1 …
From W. E. Darwin 31 December [1880]
Summary
Sends diagrams [missing] showing worm action at two sites.
| Author: | William Erasmus Darwin |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 31 Dec [1880] |
| Classmark: | DAR 162: 88 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-12957 |
Matches: 5 hits
- … Earthworms : The formation of vegetable mould through the action of worms: with …
- … you might have a constant thickness of mould in any place continuing the same for …
- … and that in case of slopes the thickness of mould diminishes with the angle of slope. I …
- … of slope, and hardly worked at all where the mould was only just enough to support grass, …
- … diagrams and notes on the thickness of mould in Teg Down and the Rifle valley in 1872; CD …
To W. E. Darwin 3 January [1872]
Summary
Thanks for letter [8137]. Finds observation at Stonehenge of depth of mould at different parts of slope "most valuable".
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | William Erasmus Darwin |
| Date: | 3 Jan [1872] |
| Classmark: | Natural History Museum, Library and Archives (General Manuscripts MSS DAR 30) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-8140 |
From W. E. Darwin [29 February 1872]
Summary
Amount of clay present in certain chalk samples.
| Author: | William Erasmus Darwin |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | [29 Feb 1872] |
| Classmark: | DAR 162: 102 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-7469 |
To W. E. Darwin [1 March 1872]
Summary
David Forbes thinks WED’s chalk samples have been penetrated by surface mud.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | William Erasmus Darwin |
| Date: | [1 Mar 1872] |
| Classmark: | DAR 162: 103 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-8216 |
To W. E. Darwin 25 January 1881
Summary
Writes of WED’s certificate for the Geological Society
and discusses various instances of earthworm activity.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | William Erasmus Darwin |
| Date: | 25 Jan 1881 |
| Classmark: | DAR 210.6: 172 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-13027 |
To W. E. Darwin 14 January [1881]
Summary
Discusses earthworm activity
and animal grazing on slopes.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | William Erasmus Darwin |
| Date: | 14 Jan [1881] |
| Classmark: | DAR 210.6: 171 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-13013 |
From W. E. Darwin 1 November 1881
Summary
Requests a list of CD’s trust securities; he and Sara have finished Worms; asks what he should do with dividend warrant.
| Author: | William Erasmus Darwin |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 1 Nov 1881 |
| Classmark: | Cornford Family Papers (DAR 275: 95) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-13445F |
Matches: 1 hit
- … Earthworms : The formation of vegetable mould through the action of worms: with …
To W. E. Darwin 10 September [1880]
Summary
Writes about worm-castings; tells WED not to bother with samples from Beaulieu Abbey.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | William Erasmus Darwin |
| Date: | 10 Sept [1880] |
| Classmark: | DAR 210.6: 162 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-12710 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … Earthworms : The formation of vegetable mould through the action of worms: with …
To W. E. Darwin 2 December [1880]
Summary
Gives instructions to WED about looking for earthworm activity at Brading.
Mentions James Geikie’s excellent book [Prehistoric Europe (1881)].
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | William Erasmus Darwin |
| Date: | 2 Dec [1880] |
| Classmark: | DAR 210.6: 164 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-12882 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … the remains—measure how thick the vegetable mould is over them. The floor & walls will …
To W. E. Darwin 19 February [1881]
Summary
Uncle Erasmus is ill.
Thanks WED for his trouble about the cottages.
He has signed the note to Higgins.
CD has used WED’s Rhododendron case in Earthworms [p. 69].
Is using paper triangles in experiments on intelligence of worms.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | William Erasmus Darwin |
| Date: | 19 Feb [1881] |
| Classmark: | Houghton Library, Harvard University (Autograph File, D) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-13058 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … Earthworms : The formation of vegetable mould through the action of worms: with …
From W. E. Darwin [19 February 1872]
Summary
Received copy of Origin 6th ed. Has had trouble with worm measurements at Winchester.
| Author: | William Erasmus Darwin |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | [19 Feb 1872] |
| Classmark: | Cornford Family Papers (DAR 275: 50) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-8250F |
Matches: 1 hit
- … s research on the formation of vegetable mould (see Correspondence vol. 20, letter from W. …
To W. E. Darwin 3 January [1881]
Summary
Thanks WED for some earthworm observations.
Discusses investments.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | William Erasmus Darwin |
| Date: | 3 Jan [1881] |
| Classmark: | DAR 210.6: 170 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-12973 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … had made in 1872 on the thickness of the mould on Teg Down near Winchester, Hampshire (see …
From W. E. Darwin 3 February [1881]
Summary
Worm observations.
| Author: | William Erasmus Darwin |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 3 Feb [1881] |
| Classmark: | Cornford Family Papers (DAR 275: 88) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-13035F |
Matches: 1 hit
- … Earthworms : The formation of vegetable mould through the action of worms: with …
From W. E. Darwin [24 April 1881]
Summary
Sends observations of wormcasts at Malvern. Describes stay at Abinger.
| Author: | William Erasmus Darwin |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | [24 Apr 1881] |
| Classmark: | Cornford Family Papers (DAR 275: 102) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-13141G |
Matches: 1 hit
- … Earthworms : The formation of vegetable mould through the action of worms: with …
From W. E. Darwin 6 February 1881
Summary
Reports his observations on numbers of Rhododendron leaves found buried [by earthworms].
| Author: | William Erasmus Darwin |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 6 Feb 1881 |
| Classmark: | DAR 162: 112/1 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-13039 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … Earthworms : The formation of vegetable mould through the action of worms: with …
To W. E. Darwin 18 June 1880
Summary
Wants WED to collect some worm-castings from Beaulieu Abbey.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | William Erasmus Darwin |
| Date: | 18 June 1880 |
| Classmark: | DAR 210.6: 160 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-12639 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … Earthworms : The formation of vegetable mould through the action of worms: with …
From W. E. Darwin 13 January [1881]
Summary
He is buying a portable fire engine, and suggests one is purchased for Down. Wishes to join the Geological Society of London. Is eager to hear Leslie Stephen’s opinion.
| Author: | William Erasmus Darwin |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 13 Jan [1881] |
| Classmark: | Cornford Family Papers (DAR 275: 86) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-13010F |
Matches: 1 hit
- … Earthworms : The formation of vegetable mould through the action of worms: with …
From W. E. Darwin 20 October [1881]
Summary
Thanks for Worms.
| Author: | William Erasmus Darwin |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 20 Oct [1881] |
| Classmark: | Cornford Family Papers (DAR 275: 94) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-13416F |
Matches: 1 hit
- … Earthworms : The formation of vegetable mould through the action of worms: with …
| letter | (26) |
| Darwin, C. R. | (14) |
| Darwin, W. E. | (12) |
| Darwin, W. E. | (14) |
| Darwin, C. R. | (12) |
| Darwin, C. R. | (26) |
| Darwin, W. E. |
Referencing women’s work
Summary
Darwin's correspondence shows that women made significant contributions to Darwin's work, but whether and how they were acknowledged in print involved complex considerations of social standing, professional standing, and personal preference.…
Matches: 7 hits
- … letters relating to Darwin's 1881 publication Vegetable mould and earthworms . …
- … casting fieldwork. Her work was referenced in Vegetable Mould and Earthworms but she was …
- … fieldwork. Her work is referenced in Vegetable Mould but she was identified only as …
- … fieldwork and observations are referenced in Vegetable Mould . Letter 12742 …
- … referenced the work of "My son Horace" in Vegetable Mould . Letter …
- … habits of worms” referenced anonymously in Vegetable Mould . Letter 12760 - …
- … William’s work is proudly referenced in Vegetable Mould . …
Casting about: Darwin on worms
Summary
Earthworms were the subject of a citizen science project to map the distribution of earthworms across Britain (BBC Today programme, 26 May 2014). The general understanding of the role earthworms play in improving soils and providing nutrients for plants to…
Matches: 1 hits
- … Darwin wrote, snappily-titled The formation of vegetable mould through the action of worms , …
Earthworms
Summary
As with many of Darwin’s research topics, his interest in worms spanned nearly his entire working life. Some of his earliest correspondence about earthworms was written and received in the 1830s, shortly after his return from his Beagle voyage, and his…
Matches: 5 hits
- … As his final published work, The Formation of Vegetable Mould through the Action of Worms was a …
- … Papers Darwin, C.R. 1840. On the formation of mould. Transactions of the Geological Society …
- … the hearing power of worms. In Chapter 1 of Vegetable Mould and Earth-worms , Darwin …
- … observe the effect of vibrations upon worms. In Vegetable Mould and Earth-worms Darwin wrote: …
- … vibrations! [1] Charles Darwin, Vegetable Mould and Earth-Worms (London: John …
Women as a scientific audience
Summary
Target audience? | Female readership | Reading Variation Darwin's letters, in particular those exchanged with his editors and publisher, reveal a lot about his intended audience. Regardless of whether or not women were deliberately targeted as a…
Matches: 1 hits
- … Mary Tanner tells Darwin that she has read his Vegetable Mould and Worms “with great …
4.38 Franz Goedecker, caricature
Summary
< Back to Introduction In a caricature by the German artist Franz Goedecker, Darwin stands in front of a desk, confronting a monkey with a face resembling his own. It holds his book on earthworms, and is squatting on a copy of a German translation,…
Matches: 1 hits
- … of Berlin. The reference to The Formation of Vegetable Mould, through the Action of Worms fixes …
4.41 'Punch', Sambourne cartoon 2
Summary
< Back to Introduction In October 1881, Darwin was included in Linley Sambourne’s series of ‘Punch’s Fancy Portraits’ of celebrities as No. 54. While the caption recurs to the old theme of Darwin’s views on human ancestry, the drawing contains a more…
Matches: 1 hits
- … to his just-published book, The Formation of Vegetable Mould through the Action of Worms. This …
Volume 29 (1881) is published!
Summary
In October 1881, Darwin published his last book, The formation of vegetable mould through the action of worms: with observations on their habits. A slim volume on a subject that many people could understand and on which they had their own opinions, it went…
Matches: 1 hits
- … Darwin published his last book, The formation of vegetable mould through the action of worms: with …
Darwin in letters, 1872: Job done?
Summary
'My career’, Darwin wrote towards the end of 1872, 'is so nearly closed. . . What little more I can do, shall be chiefly new work’, and the tenor of his correspondence throughout the year is one of wistful reminiscence, coupled with a keen eye…
Matches: 1 hits
- … of Darwin’s last book, The formation of vegetable mould through the action of worms , …
Darwin and Down
Summary
Charles and Emma Darwin, with their first two children, settled at Down House in the village of Down (later ‘Downe’) in Kent, as a young family in 1842. The house came with eighteen acres of land, and a fifteen acre meadow. The village combined the…
Matches: 1 hits
- … between species. His last publication, The formation of mould through the action of earthworms …
The full edition is now online!
Summary
For nearly fifty years successive teams of researchers on both sides of the Atlantic have been working to track down all surviving letters written by or to Charles Darwin, research their content, and publish the complete texts. The thirtieth and final…
Matches: 1 hits
- … to a review of his latest book, The formation of vegetable mould through the actions of worms , …
Bibliography of Darwin’s geological publications
Summary
This list includes papers read by Darwin to the Geological Society of London, his books on the geology of the Beagle voyage, and other publications on geological topics. Author-date citations refer to entries in the Darwin Correspondence Project’s…
Volume 28 (1880) now published
Summary
1880 opened and closed with an irksome controversy with Samuel Butler, prompted by the publication of Erasmus Darwin the previous year. Darwin became fully devoted to earthworms in the spring of the year, just after finishing the manuscript of Movement in…
Matches: 1 hits
- … began writing his final book, The formation of vegetable mould, through the action of worms . …
2.3 Wedgwood medallions
Summary
< Back to Introduction Despite Darwin’s closeness to the Wedgwood family, he was studiously uninterested in the productions of his maternal grandfather Josiah Wedgwood I, the immensely successful ceramic manufacturer. In a letter to Hooker of January…
Matches: 1 hits
- … the first wax model portraying Darwin; the plaster mould created from it; and a clay relief cast …
Darwin in letters, 1871: An emptying nest
Summary
The year 1871 was an extremely busy and productive one for Darwin, with the publication in February of his long-awaited book on human evolution, Descent of man. The other main preoccupation of the year was the preparation of his manuscript on expression.…
Matches: 1 hits
- … in Darwin’s last book, The formation of vegetable mould through the action of worms , published …
John Murray
Summary
Darwin's most famous book On the origin of species by means of natural selection (Origin) was published on 22 November 1859. The publisher was John Murray, who specialised in non-fiction, particularly politics, travel and science, and had published…
Matches: 1 hits
- … sent Murray the manuscript of The formation of vegetable mould, through the action of worms ( …
Darwin in letters, 1881: Old friends and new admirers
Summary
In May 1881, Darwin, one of the best-known celebrities in England if not the world, began writing about all the eminent men he had met. He embarked on this task, which formed an addition to his autobiography, because he had nothing else to do. He had…
Matches: 3 hits
2.8 Alphonse Legros medallion
Summary
< Back to Introduction The painter, printmaker and sculptor Alphonse Legros created this bronze medallion with a profile portrait of Darwin in 1881, shortly before the latter’s death. According to a friend of Legros, the writer Thomas Okey, it was…
Matches: 1 hits
- … individually modelled in relief and cast in bronze from a mould by the traditional lost-wax process, …
German poems presented to Darwin
Summary
Experiments in deepest reverence The following poems were enclosed with a photograph album sent as a birthday gift to Charles Darwin by his German and Austrian admirers (see letter from From Emil Rade, [before 16] February 1877). The poems were…
Matches: 1 hits
- … on your dark grave,— Away with the delusion, the mould, It is the time of battle, …
1.14 William Richmond, oil
Summary
< Back to Introduction William Blake Richmond’s portrait of Darwin, dating from 1879, celebrated his honorary degree of LL.D (Doctor in Laws), awarded by Cambridge University in 1877. Darwin’s return to his alma mater for the presentation ceremony…
Matches: 1 hits
- … Darwin and his unique public persona simply did not fit the mould of institutional, honorific …
Darwin in letters, 1837–1843: The London years to 'natural selection'
Summary
The seven-year period following Darwin's return to England from the Beagle voyage was one of extraordinary activity and productivity in which he became recognised as a naturalist of outstanding ability, as an author and editor, and as a professional…
Matches: 1 hits
- … The fourth presented his hypothesis on the formation of mould by earthworms. This explanation of a …
