Summary

Has had conflicting information on the movement of radicles; wants FD to experiment with them.

Summary

Recounts some figures relating deaf-mutism and consanguineous marriages.

GHD has failed to be elected to the Royal Society.

Summary

Encloses letters from Blair on inheritance of injured wing in geese. Says specimens have been sent.

Mentions case of pigeon born without eyes.

Summary

Thinks there can be no objection to RM’s using a Fritz Müller letter [see 11319].

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.

Summary

Does not think sermon by E. B. Pusey [see 11763] is worth a reply. HNR may quote CD as saying that Pusey is "mistaken in imagining that I wrote the Origin with any relation whatever to Theology". Pusey’s attack will be powerless to retard belief in evolution.

Summary

CD and son [Francis] working on spontaneous movements of plants and heliotropism.

Has given [Raphael Meldola] permission to read extracts of FM’s last letter [not found], on odours emitted by moths, before Entomological Society [Trans. R. Entomol. Soc. Lond. (1878): ii–iii].

Summary

Will be interested to read BP’s work on history [of evolution?].

A learned Jew in Poland [Napthali Lewy?] has published a volume showing that evolution is an ancient belief.

Summary

Describes findings of examination of geese with abnormal wings. Says old gander that sired geese is without injury or abnormality. Encloses his assistant’s report.

Summary

Thanks for AG’s review of Forms of flowers [Am. J. Sci. 3d ser. 15 (1878): 67–73].

Thomas Carlyle’s letter about CD was a forgery.

Gives Hermann Müller’s observations on Valeriana dioica.

Is unsure about function of "bloom"; are glaucous plants more or less common in arid parts of U. S.?

Observations on heliotropism.

Thomas Meehan reports that Linum perenne is self-fertile; CD thinks that he has mistaken the species.

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.

Summary

Encloses letter from R. A. Blair concerning goose with abnormal wing. Hopes WHF will look at bones.

Summary

Thanks FM for letter of 22 Feb [not found] on Lepidoptera. Will send it to Entomological Society to be read. FM’s earlier letters produced best discussions of the season.

Thanks for seeds of Viola.

He and Francis [Darwin] are at work on biology of seedling plants and wish to observe how the flowers penetrate the earth.

The Pontederia did not germinate, probably pressed too much [in post].