To James Torbitt [1]4 December 1878
Summary
Congratulates JT on success in breeding potato varieties.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | James Torbitt |
| Date: | [1]4 Dec 1878 |
| Classmark: | DAR 148: 106 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-11772 |
Matches: 5 hits
- … James Torbitt, 1 March 1878 ). See letter from James Torbitt, 12 December 1878 and n. 3. …
- … for example, ibid. , pp. 74–5). In his letter of 12 December 1878 , Torbitt had asked CD …
- … between this letter and the letter from James Torbitt, 12 December 1878 . The day on the …
- … disease-resistant varieties of potato; see letter from James Torbitt, 12 December 1878 . …
- … See letter from James Torbitt, 12 December 1878 . In Cross and self fertilisation , CD had …
To A. C. Ramsay 3 November 1878
Summary
Thanks for ACR’s Physical geology [5th ed. (1878)]; delighted with its success, proving there is a large body of men in England capable of appreciating sound geological science.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Andrew Crombie Ramsay |
| Date: | 3 Nov 1878 |
| Classmark: | DAR 261.9: 10 (EH 88205983) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-11735 |
From E. L. Sturtevant 12 January 1878
Summary
Encloses some notes on maize that may be useful.
| Author: | Edward Lewis Sturtevant |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 12 Jan 1878 |
| Classmark: | DAR 177: 269 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-11320 |
To Francis Darwin 12 September [1878]
Summary
Julius von Sachs’s views on stomata seem largely correct, but CD cannot understand how leaves can survive submerged for such long periods.
Has been observing Drosera and concludes that none of the movement of the tentacles is caused by growth.
Suggests observations to show role of pulvinus in leaf movement.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Francis Darwin |
| Date: | 12 Sept [1878] |
| Classmark: | DAR 211: 45 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-11690 |
Matches: 4 hits
- … Darwin , Francis’s son. See letter from Francis Darwin, [12 September 1878] and n. 2. …
- … relationship between this letter and the letter from Francis Darwin, [12 September 1878] . …
- … See letter from Francis Darwin, [12 September 1878] . See Origin 6th ed. , pp. 119–20 (‘A …
- … Correspondence vol. 25, letter from W. E. Darwin, [12 or 19 July 1877] . See Movement in …
To W. H. Flower 13 April [1878]
Summary
Will ask Blair for more [goose] wing specimens.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | William Henry Flower |
| Date: | 13 Apr [1878] |
| Classmark: | John Innes Foundation Historical Collections |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-11474 |
To R. A. Blair 14 April 1878
Summary
Encloses report by W. H. Flower on goose’s wing.
Asks RAB to obtain wings from young birds and broken wing from old one. Asks about details of injury.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Reuben Almond Blair |
| Date: | 14 Apr 1878 |
| Classmark: | American Philosophical Society (Mss.B.D25.535) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-11475 |
To T. H. Huxley 29 December 1878
Summary
About Anthony Rich, who has decided to leave his fortune to CD [and later also to make a bequest to THH]. CD’s account of what he wrote to Rich.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Thomas Henry Huxley |
| Date: | 29 Dec 1878 |
| Classmark: | Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine Archives (Huxley 5: 329) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-11809 |
From James Torbitt 16 September 1878
Summary
Apologises for his error over the Solanum.
Thanks CD for his good wishes; JT believes he will increase yield and disease-resistance by his crossing and selection.
| Author: | James Torbitt |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 16 Sept 1878 |
| Classmark: | DAR 178: 147 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-11696 |
To Francis Darwin 13 [September 1878]
Summary
Asks what position the sub-peduncles assume when the main flower peduncle of Oxalis is tied so as to be horizontal.
Asks whether FD can find some plants at Kew for CD to trace epinastic and hyponastic movements.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Francis Darwin |
| Date: | 13 [Sept 1878] |
| Classmark: | DAR 211: 46 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-11692 |
To G. H. Darwin 13 [July 1878]
Summary
Thanks GHD for his drawings [of Thalia]. Some parts need attention.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | George Howard Darwin |
| Date: | 13 [July 1878] |
| Classmark: | DAR 210.1: 71 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-11603 |
Matches: 4 hits
- … had taken George three to four hours ( letter from G. H. Darwin, 12 July 1878 ). …
- … between this letter and the letter from G. H. Darwin, 12 July 1878 . CD had asked George …
- … G. H. Darwin, 10 [July 1878] , and letter from G. H. Darwin, 12 July 1878 ). There are …
- … made by George; see enclosure to letter from G. H. Darwin, 12 July 1878 . Making …
To Francis Darwin [13–26 May 1878]
Summary
Has had conflicting information on the movement of radicles; wants FD to experiment with them.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Francis Darwin |
| Date: | [13–26 May 1878] |
| Classmark: | DAR 211: 26 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-11538 |
To J. B. Innes 27 November [1878]
Summary
CD disappointed in Pusey’s sermon against evolution [Un-science, not science, adverse to faith (1878), sermon read by H. P. Liddon at St Mary’s, Oxford, on 3 Nov 1878]. Does not agree that religion and science can be kept as distant as Pusey desires. Geology and biology must deal with history of earth and of man. But that is no reason for bitter hostility.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | John Brodie Innes |
| Date: | 27 Nov [1878] |
| Classmark: | Cleveland Health Sciences Library (Robert M. Stecher collection) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-11763 |
To W. H. Flower 4 [August] 1878
Summary
Encloses letters from Blair on inheritance of injured wing in geese. Says specimens have been sent.
Mentions case of pigeon born without eyes.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | William Henry Flower |
| Date: | 4 [Aug] 1878 |
| Classmark: | American Philosophical Society (Mss.B.D25.543) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-11640 |
To C. G. Semper [after 6 December 1878]
Summary
Gives CGS permission to use his letters in any way he thinks fit.
Discusses the direct effect of external conditions as an agent of change in organisms; has encountered many cases since the publication of Origin.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Carl Gottfried Semper |
| Date: | [after 6 Dec 1878] |
| Classmark: | DAR 202: 120v |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-11777 |
From Francis Darwin [21 July 1878]
Summary
Has been investigating nutational movements of climbing plants; comments on the opinions of Julius von Wiesner and Julius Sachs. Remarks on the sleep movements of certain plants and the mechanism of tendril curvature. Is experimenting with Porlieria.
Has visited K. G. Semper’s laboratory.
| Author: | Francis Darwin |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | [21 July 1878] |
| Classmark: | DAR 162: 59, DAR 209.8: 151 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-11623 |
From Fritz Müller 5 April 1878
Summary
Observations on a sensitive Mimosa.
Comments on structure and positioning of "odoriferous organs" of moths and butterflies,
and feeding habits of butterfly larvae.
| Author: | Johann Friedrich Theodor (Fritz) Müller |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 5 Apr 1878 |
| Classmark: | Oxford University Museum of Natural History (Hope Entomological Collections 1350: Hope/Westwood Archive, Darwin folder) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-11463 |
From Eugenio Montero Ríos and Jacinto Mesía 16 January 1878
Summary
CD elected an honorary professor of the Institucion Libre de Enseñanza.
| Author: | Eugenio María (Eugenio) Montero Ríos; Jacinto Mesía |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 16 Jan 1878 |
| Classmark: | DAR 230: 58 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-11321A |
To Arnold Dodel-Port 15 June 1878
Summary
Thanks AD-P for his magnificent Atlas; hopes it will find an English publisher. Suggests Longman & Co.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Arnold Dodel-Port |
| Date: | 15 June 1878 |
| Classmark: | Zentralbibliothek, Zürich (Ms. Z VIII 417.2) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-11554 |
To Francis Darwin 14 July [1878]
Summary
Asks for list of families of sleeping plants. Believes sleep is merely modified circumnutation at a particular time of day.
Porlieria has had no water for some time but shows no sign of flagging.
Describes the response of Thalia flowers to touch.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Francis Darwin |
| Date: | 14 July [1878] |
| Classmark: | DAR 211: 35, 36, 39 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-11608 |
From E. A. Darwin 13 December [1878]
Summary
Very glad to hear Anthony Rich is leaving CD money "encouraging science in such a very practical manner".
| Author: | Erasmus Alvey Darwin |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 13 Dec [1878] |
| Classmark: | DAR 105: B104 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-11790 |
| Darwin, C. R. | (46) |
| Darwin, Francis | (11) |
| Torbitt, James | (3) |
| Darwin, E. A. | (2) |
| Darwin, G. H. | (2) |
| Darwin, C. R. | (38) |
| Darwin, Francis | (8) |
| Darwin, G. H. | (3) |
| Flower, W. H. | (3) |
| Farrer, T. H. | (2) |
| Darwin, C. R. | (84) |
| Darwin, Francis | (19) |
| Darwin, G. H. | (5) |
| Flower, W. H. | (4) |
| Torbitt, James | (4) |
Lost in translation: From Auguste Forel, 12 November 1874
Summary
You receive a gift from your scientific hero Charles Darwin. It is a book that contains sections on your favourite topic—ants. If only you had paid attention when your mother tried to teach you English you might be able to read it. But you didn’t, and you…
Matches: 1 hits
- … You receive a gift from your scientific hero Charles Darwin. It is a book that contains sections …
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: 1 hits
- … The year 1874 was one of consolidation, reflection, and turmoil for Darwin. He spent the early …
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: 1 hits
- … There are summaries of all Darwin's letters from the year 1879 on this website. The full texts of …
Darwin’s hothouse and lists of hothouse plants
Summary
Darwin became increasingly involved in botanical experiments in the years after the publication of Origin. The building of a small hothouse - a heated greenhouse - early in 1863 greatly increased the range of plants that he could keep for scientific…
Matches: 1 hits
- … Towards the end of 1862, Darwin resolved to build a small hothouse at Down House, for …
1.2 George Richmond, marriage portrait
Summary
< Back to Introduction Few likenesses of Darwin in his youth survive, although more may once have existed. In a letter of 1873 an old Shrewsbury friend, Arthur Mostyn Owen, offered to send Darwin a watercolour sketch of him, painted many years…
Matches: 1 hits
- … < Back to Introduction Few likenesses of Darwin in his youth survive, although more …
Darwin in letters, 1862: A multiplicity of experiments
Summary
1862 was a particularly productive year for Darwin. This was not only the case in his published output (two botanical papers and a book on the pollination mechanisms of orchids), but more particularly in the extent and breadth of the botanical experiments…
Matches: 1 hits
- … As the sheer volume of his correspondence indicates, 1862 was a particularly productive year for …
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: 1 hits
- … Having laboured for nearly five years on human evolution, sexual selection, and the expression of …
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: 1 hits
- … In May 1881, Darwin, one of the best-known celebrities in England if not the world, began …
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: 1 hits
- … Observers | Fieldwork | Experimentation | Editors and critics | Assistants …
German and Dutch photograph albums
Summary
Darwin Day 2018: To celebrate Darwin's 209th birthday, we present two lavishly produced albums of portrait photographs which Darwin received from continental admirers 141 years ago. These unusual gifts from Germany and the Netherlands are made…
Matches: 1 hits
- … In 1877, Charles Darwin was sent some unusual birthday presents: two lavishly …
Darwin in letters, 1875: Pulling strings
Summary
‘I am getting sick of insectivorous plants’, Darwin confessed in January 1875. He had worked on the subject intermittently since 1859, and had been steadily engaged on a book manuscript for nine months; January also saw the conclusion of a bitter dispute…
Matches: 1 hits
- … I am merely slaving over the sickening work of preparing new Editions …
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: 1 hits
- … I think we have proved that the sleep of plants is to lessen injury to leaves from radiation …
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: 1 hits
- … At the start of 1869, Darwin was hard at work making changes and additions for a fifth edition of …
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: 1 hits
- … At the start of 1863, Charles Darwin was actively working on the manuscript of The variation of …
The Lyell–Lubbock dispute
Summary
In May 1865 a dispute arose between John Lubbock and Charles Lyell when Lubbock, in his book Prehistoric times, accused Lyell of plagiarism. The dispute caused great dismay among many of their mutual scientific friends, some of whom took immediate action…
Matches: 1 hits
- … In May 1865 a dispute arose between John Lubbock and Charles Lyell when Lubbock, in his book …
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
- … ‘My career’, Darwin wrote towards the end of 1872, ‘is so nearly closed. . . What little more I …
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: 1 hits
- … In 1882, Darwin reached his 74th year Earthworms had been published the previous October, and …
Diagrams and drawings in letters
Summary
Over 850 illustrations from the printed volumes of The Correspondence of Charles Darwin have been added to the online transcripts of the letters. The contents include maps, diagrams, drawings, sketches and photographs, covering geological, botanical,…
Matches: 1 hits
- … Over 850 illustrations from the printed volumes of The Correspondence of Charles Darwin have …
Darwin in letters, 1847-1850: Microscopes and barnacles
Summary
Darwin's study of barnacles, begun in 1844, took him eight years to complete. The correspondence reveals how his interest in a species found during the Beagle voyage developed into an investigation of the comparative anatomy of other cirripedes and…
Matches: 1 hits
- … Species theory In November 1845, Charles Darwin wrote to his friend and confidant Joseph …
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: 1 hits
- … When Darwin resumed systematic research on emotions around 1866, he began to collect observations …
