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Cross and self fertilisation

Summary

The effects of cross and self fertilisation in the vegetable kingdom, published on 10 November 1876, was the result of a decade-long project to provide evidence for Darwin’s belief that ‘‘Nature thus tells us, in the most emphatic manner, that she abhors…

Matches: 16 hits

  • offspring of English fertile plants’ ( To Fritz Müller, 12 May 1870 ). From a fairly early
  • produced by a cross between two distinct plants’ ( To JDHooker, 17 March [1867] ). He noted
  • of France where Moggridge lived for part of the year ( To JTMoggridge, 1 October [1867] ). …
  • to impotence when taken from the same plant!’ ( To JDHooker, 21 May [1868] ) Pollen tubes, or
  • the season it becomes capable of self-fertilisation’ ( To JDHooker, 23 July [1871] ). Darwin
  • with choosing which taxonomic system to follow ( To JDHooker, 17 February 1873 ). Despite also
  • 4 May [1873] ). In reply to his German translator Julius Carus, who wrote in early May, Darwin
  • … & I have no idea when it will be published’ ( To JVCarus, 8 May [1873] ). Hermann Müller
  • decided to shift focus back to Drosera . He informed Carus that his next book would be on this
  • March 1874, some doubts seemed to have arisen when he told Carus, ‘My next book, (if I live & …
  • … & Trimorphic plants with new & related matter. ( To JVCarus, 19 March [1874] ). A year
  • to publish his earlier papers in the same book ( To JVCarus, 25 December 1875 ). As
  • … & which will be published early in November’ ( To JVCarus, 27 September 1876 ). The title
  • if the book had not yet been released ( From Asa Gray, 12 October 1876 ). Darwin sent the sheets, …
  • as being as faultless as your temper’ ( From Asa Gray, 12 November 1876 ). The book was
  • ARWallace, 13 December 1876 ). No reply to this letter has been found, but Darwin had long

Darwin in letters, 1867: A civilised dispute

Summary

Charles Darwin’s major achievement in 1867 was the completion of his large work, The variation of animals and plants under domestication (Variation). The importance of Darwin’s network of correspondents becomes vividly apparent in his work on expression in…

Matches: 17 hits

  • … suppose abuse is as good as praise for selling a Book’ ( letter to John Murray, 31 January [1867] …
  • … to the printer, but without the additional chapter. In a letter written on 8 February [1867] to …
  • … books,  Descent  and  Expression . In the same letter, Darwin revealed the conclusion to his …
  • … variation of animals and plants under domestication . In a letter to his son William dated 27 …
  • … of his brother’s embryological papers with his first letter to Darwin of 15 March 1867 , although …
  • … . Indeed, he told his publisher, John Murray, in a letter of 4 April [1867] , not to send …
  • … one from Vogt in April 1867, to translate the new work. Carus had already agreed in principle to …
  • … tell me, at what rate your work will be published’ ( letter from J. V. Carus, 5 April 1867 ). This …
  • … & sent to him, he may wish to give up the task’ ( letter to Carl Vogt, 12 April [1867] ). …
  • … to introduce the work to the German public ( letter from J. V. Carus, 15 April 1867 ). Darwin may …
  • … attack it & me with unparalleled ferocity’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 17 November [1867] ). …
  • … remarks on expression”’ ( letter to A. R. Wallace, [12–17] March [1867] ). Darwin’s doggedness in …
  • … had read it and whether it was worth reading ( letter from J. D. Hooker, 4 February 1867 ). In a …
  • … had drawn a better sphynx’ ( letter to A. R. Wallace, 12 and 13 October [1867] ). Darwin referred …
  • … rich from the nonsense talked’ ( letter to A. R. Wallace, 12 and 13 October [1867] ). …
  • … judgement he would subdue; that is yours’ ( letter from J. V. Carus, 5 April 1867 ). Darwin …
  • … truth of his own conclusions’ ( letter to Ernst Haeckel, 12 April [1867] ). All quiet on …

Darwin in letters, 1876: In the midst of life

Summary

1876 was the year in which the Darwins became grandparents for the first time.  And tragically lost their daughter-in-law, Amy, who died just days after her son's birth.  All the letters from 1876 are now published in volume 24 of The Correspondence…

Matches: 23 hits

  • … ‘my wifepoor creature, has won only 2490 games’ ( letter to Asa Gray, 28 January 1876 ). …
  • quantity of workleft in him fornew matter’ (letter to Asa Gray, 28 January 1876). The
  • to a reprint of the second edition of Climbing plants ( letter from R. F. Cooke, 23 February
  • revisions at all. His resolve held even when Julius Victor Carus, who intended to translate the
  • resolved not even to look at a single proof ’. Perhaps Caruss meticulous correction of errors in
  • accuracy, & I for blundering’, he cheerfully observed to Carus. ( Letter to J. V. Carus, 24
  • provided evidence for theadvantages of crossing’ (letter to Asa Gray, 28 January 1876). Revising
  • year to write about his life ( Correspondence vol. 23, letter from Ernst von Hesse-Wartegg, 20
  • nowadays is evolution and it is the correct one’ ( letter from Nemo, [1876?] ). …
  • himbaselyand who had succeeded in giving him pain ( letter to A. R. Wallace, 17 June 1876 ). …
  • respectability (see Correspondence vol. 22, Appendix V). Eighteen months later, Darwin remained
  • disgraceof blackballing so distinguished a zoologist ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 29 January 1876 ) …
  • must have been cast by thepoorest curs in London’ ( letter to W. T. Thiselton-Dyer, [4 February
  • her questions weretoo silly to deserve an answer’ ( letter from S. B. Herrick, 12 February 1876
  • on Dionaeato test the insect eating theory’ ( letter from Peter Henderson, 15 November 1876
  • sending Darwin small amendments to his results ( letter from Moritz Schiff, 8 May 1876 ). …
  • to get positive results in this years experiments’ ( letter from G. J. Romanes, [ c . 19 March
  • by the mutual pressure of very young buds’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 21 June [1876] ). Darwin
  • paper wasnot worthy of being read ever’ ( letter from J. D. Hooker, 28 January 1876 ). Darwin
  • for one so poor at figures as I am’, Gray conceded on 12 November , although he could reassure
  • … [1876] ). Darwin repeated the same warning to Julius Carus, his German translator. ‘You will have
  • Hildebrand, 6 December 1876 , and letter from F. J. Cohn, 31 December 1876 ). To Darwins
  • Darwins oldest son William (see Correspondence vol. 12 and the Supplement to vol. 24). By the

Movement in Plants

Summary

The power of movement in plants, published on 7 November 1880, was the final large botanical work that Darwin wrote. It was the only work in which the assistance of one of his children, Francis Darwin, is mentioned on the title page. The research for this…

Matches: 0 hits

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: 20 hits

  • … in Unconscious memory in November 1880 and in an abusive letter about Darwin in the St James’s …
  • … memory in Kosmos and sent Darwin a separate letter for publication in the Journal of Popular …
  • … made a small omission ’. Stephen’s reply on 12 January was flattering, reassuring, and …
  • … publishers decided to print ‘500 more, making 2000’ ( letter to H. E. Litchfield, 4 January 1881 ) …
  • … the animal learnt from its own individual experience ( letter from G. J. Romanes, 7 March 1881 ). …
  • … whether observations of their behaviour were trustworthy ( letter to Francis Galton, 8 March [1881] …
  • … about the sale of books being ‘a game of chance’ ( letter to R. F. Cooke, 12 April 1881 ). On 18 …
  • … for more suggestions of such plants, especially annuals ( letter to W. T. Thiselton-Dyer, 21 March …
  • … Darwin had difficulty in obtaining mature plants. On 12 April, he reported to Müller , ‘I have …
  • … to make me happy & contented,’ he told Wallace on 12 July , ‘but life has become very …
  • … supposed he would feel ‘less sulky in a day or two’ ( letter to R. F. Cooke, 29 July 1881 ). The …
  • … dead a work falls at this late period of the season’ ( letter from R. F. Cooke, 30 July 1881 ). …
  • … conversation with you’, a Swedish teacher told him ( letter from C. E. Södling, 14 October 1881 ), …
  • … which he thought ‘an excellent Journal’ ( letter to G. J. Romanes, 4 July [1881] ). In these ways, …
  • … one’ and had ‘gone much out’ of his mind ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 20 June [1881] ). Feeling …
  • … atrocious a manner on all physiologists’ ( letter to G. J. Romanes, 18 April 1881 ). A letter he …
  • … else’s judgment on the subject ( letter to A. R. Wallace, 12 July 1881 ). However, some requests …
  • … would be with a less intelligent man’ ( letter from G. J. Romanes, 1 July [1881] ). Despite this, …
  • … it; & I now wish that I had not done so’ ( letter to J. V. Carus, 8 December 1881 ). …
  • … men the true methods of investigation’ ( letter from C. V. Riley, 18 December 1881 ). …

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: 29 hits

  • be done by observation during prolonged intervals’ ( letter to D. T. Gardner, [ c . 27 August
  • pleasures of shooting and collecting beetles ( letter from W. D. Fox, 8 May [1874] ).  Such
  • Andone looks backwards much more than forwards’ ( letter to W. D. Fox, 11 May [1874] ). …
  • was an illusory hope.— I feel very old & helpless’  ( letter to B. J. Sulivan, 6 January [1874] …
  • inferred that he was well from his silence on the matter ( letter from Ernst Haeckel, 26 October
  • in such rubbish’, he confided to Joseph Dalton Hooker ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 18 January [1874] …
  • that Mr Williams wasa cheat and an imposter’ ( letter from T. H. Huxley, 27 January 1874 ). …
  • his, ‘& that he was thus free to perform his antics’ ( letter to T. H. Huxley, 29 January [1874
  • letter to Smith, Elder & Co., 8 January 1874 , letter to J. D. Hooker, 8 January 1874 , and
  • coral-reefs . In his preface ( Coral reefs  2d ed., pp. vvii), Darwin reasserted the priority of
  • for misinterpreting Darwin on this point ( letter from J. D. Dana, 21 July 1874 ); however, he did
  • number of new facts and remarks’ ( Descent  2d ed., p. v). Among the many contributors was
  • … (letters from George Cupples, 21 February 1874 and 12 March 1874 ); the material was
  • the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii; letters from T. N. Staley, 12 February 1874 and 20 February 1874
  • …  was published in November 1874 ( letter from R. F. Cooke, 12 November 1874 ). Though containing
  • print runs would be very good ( letter from R. F. Cooke, 12 November 1874 ). Darwin's
  • scientific conduct (see Correspondence vol. 22, Appendix V and Dawson 2007, pp. 7781). Darwin
  • Mivart (see  Correspondence  vol. 20, letter to St G. J. Mivart, 11 January [1872] ). To Darwin
  • Review & in the same type’  ( letter from John Murray, 12 August 1874 ). Georges letter
  • whether he was the author of the review ( see letter to J. D. Hooker, 14 December 1874 ). Huxley
  • Mivart had written the article ( enclosure to letter from J. D. Hooker, 21 December 1874 ). Huxley
  • had written before (see Correspondence vol. 22, Appendix V, p. 641).  give him the
  • you & yours’ (see Correspondence vol. 22appendix V, p. 644). In his dealings
  • …  in the  Academy   (2 January 1875; see Appendix V, pp. 6445) . The affair rolled on into
  • he finally wrote a polite, very formal letter to Mivart on 12 January 1875 , refusing to hold any
  • … & snugness’ ( letter from Emma Darwin to J. B. Innes, 12 October [1874] ).   More
  • vicar of Deptford ( letter from Emma Darwin to J. B. Innes, 12 October [1874] ), but to her
  • … . Darwins German translator, Julius Victor Carus, and his publisher, Eduard Koch of E. …
  • had been translated had already been sold ( letter from J. V. Carus, 15 March 1874 ). Darwin was

Photograph album of German and Austrian scientists

Summary

The album was sent to Darwin to mark his birthday on 12 February 1877 by the civil servant Emil Rade, and contained 165 portraits of German and Austrian scientists. The work was lavishly produced and bound in blue velvet with metal embossing. Its ornate…

Matches: 7 hits

  • The album was sent to Darwin to mark his birthday on 12 February 1877 by the civil servant Emil
  • is by far the greatest honour which I have ever received ( Letter to Ernst Haeckel, 16 February
  • to them when first laid before the scientific world.— ( Letter from Leonard Blomefield, 12 March
  • that he had not been invited to participateJulius Victor Carus, who had translated most of Darwin& …
  • which I dont feel myself worth to give you ( Letter from JVCarus, 22 March 1877 )  …
  • man is to my understanding his scientific work. ( Letter from CGSemper, 26 April 1877 ) …
  • Sir, will kindly incorporate it in the German album ( Letter from Carl  Kraus , 10 February 1878

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: 25 hits

  • … his publishers, he warned that it was ‘dry as dust’ ( letter to R. F. Cooke, 9 September 1879 ). …
  • … turned out, alas, very dull & has disappointed me much’ ( letter to Francis Galton, 15 [June …
  • … home again’, he fretted, just days before his departure ( letter to W. T. Thiselton-Dyer, [after 26 …
  • … many blessings, was finding old age ‘a dismal time’ ( letter to Henry Johnson, 24 September 1879 ) …
  • … wrinkles one all over like a baked pear’ ( enclosure in letter from R. W. Dixon, 20 December 1879 …
  • … itself, or gone some other way round?’ At least the last letter of 1879 contained a warmer note and …
  • … office to complete Horace’s marriage settlement ( letter from W. M. Hacon, 31 December 1879 ). …
  • … but they were ‘as nice and good as could be’ ( letter from Karl Beger, [ c. 12 February 1879] ) …
  • … on your life’s work, which is crowned with glory’ ( letter from Ernst Haeckel, 9 February 1879 ). …
  • … by reading them an extract from a materialist work by Carus Sterne containing the statement ‘In the …
  • … as the ‘organ of “uncultivated materialism”’ ( letter from Francis Darwin, [after 2 June 1879 ]). …
  • … up the glory & would please Francis’, he pointed out ( letter from E. A. Darwin, 13 March [1879 …
  • … with the when & the where, & the who—’ ( letter from V. H. Darwin, 28 May [1879] ). On the …
  • … well, and with little fatigue’ ( letter to G. H. Darwin, 12 July 1879 , and letter from Leonard …
  • … ever about life of D r . D’ ( letter to Francis Darwin, 12 July [1879] ). It was little …
  • … Thiselton-Dyer, 5 June 1879 , and letter to G. H. Darwin, 12 July 1879 ). Darwin’s final task …
  • … inn ‘ very comfortable’, but told Leonard Darwin on 12 August that there were ‘too many human …
  • … scarlet oak: ‘to be planted in my honour!’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 4 November [1879] ). While in …
  • … not to have come up when the Darwins lunched with him on 12 August (Darwin’s ‘Journal’). Nor did …
  • … the world. At the end of the year he was awarded a prize of 12,000 francs by the Turin Academy of …
  • … knowledge—observation & experiment’ ( letter from J. F. Moulton, 10 December 1879 ). In reply …
  • … image of the frog be published in Nature ( letter to J. N. Lockyer, 4 and 6 March [1879] ). …
  • … and his family to the Riviera for the summer ( letter to G. J. Romanes, 23 July 1879 ). Allen, who …
  • … which greatly pleased Darwin ( letter from Grant Allen, 12 February 1879 ). One of Allen’s targets …
  • … engagement being made public ( letter from T. H. Farrer, 12 October 1879 ). Darwin’s response not …

Darwin in letters,1870: Human evolution

Summary

The year 1870 is aptly summarised by the brief entry Darwin made in his journal: ‘The whole of the year at work on the Descent of Man & Selection in relation to Sex’.  Descent was the culmination of over three decades of observations and reflections on…

Matches: 24 hits

  • … shall be a man again & not a horrid grinding machine’  ( letter to Charles Lyell, 25 December …
  • … anything which has happened to me for some weeks’  ( letter to Albert Günther, 13 January [1870] ) …
  • … corrections of style, the more grateful I shall be’  ( letter to H. E. Darwin, [8 February 1870] ) …
  • … who wd ever have thought that I shd. turn parson?’ ( letter to H. E. Darwin, [8 February 1870] ). …
  • … abt any thing so unimportant as the mind of man!’ ( letter from H. E. Darwin, [after 8 February …
  • … thro’ apes & savages at the moral sense of mankind’ ( letter to F. P. Cobbe, 23 March [1870?] …
  • … how metaphysics & physics form one great philosophy?’ ( letter from F. P. Cobbe, 28 March [1870 …
  • … in thanks for the drawing ( Correspondence  vol. 16, letter to J. D. Hooker, 26 November [1868] …
  • … patients, but it did not confirm Duchenne’s findings ( letter from James Crichton-Browne, 15 March …
  • … muscle’, he complained, ‘is the bane of existence!’ ( letter to William Ogle, 9 November 1870 ). …
  • … to their belief that all demons and spirits were white ( letter from W. W. Reade, 9 November 1870 …
  • … . . Could you make it scream without hurting it much?’ ( letter to A. D. Bartlett, 5 January [1870] …
  • … or crying badly; but I fear he will not succeed’ ( letter to James Crichton-Browne, 8 June [1870] …
  • … Lucy Wedgwood, who sent a sketch of a baby’s brows ( letter from L. C. Wedgwood, [5 May 1870] ). …
  • … is the inclination to finish my note on this subject’  ( letter from F. C. Donders, 17 May 1870 ). …
  • … & valuable labours on the Primates’ ( letter to St G. J. Mivart, 23 April [1870] ). He also …
  • … Ape differs from a lump of granite’ ( letter from St G. J. Mivart, 22 April 1870 ). Mivart …
  • … whatever may have been his “origin” ( letter from St G. J. Mivart, 25 April 1870 ). In his …
  • … than I could a ball at Buckingham Palace’ ( letter to B. J. Sulivan, 30 June [1870] ). …
  • … has a white forefoot’  ( letter from Francis Galton, 12 May 1870 ). But in general the results …
  • … persons long married grow like each other’ ( letter from J. J. Weir, 17 March 1870 ). …
  • … in Bastian’s solutions of the same kind’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 12 July [1870] ). Bastian’s …
  • … to be thus killed by a man of 86’  ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 25 May [1870] ). On learning of this, …
  • … do, I know no more than the man in the moon’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 25 May [1870] ). …

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: 25 hits

  • … Observers Women: Letter 1194 - Darwin to Whitby, M. A. T., [12 August …
  • … silkworm breeds, or peculiarities in inheritance. Letter 3787 - Darwin, H. E. to …
  • … observations of cats’ instinctive behaviour. Letter 4258 - Becker, L. E. to Darwin, …
  • … to artificially fertilise plants in her garden. Letter 4523 - Wedgwood, L. C. to …
  • … be made on seeds of Pulmonaria officinalis . Letter 5745 - Barber, M. E. to …
  • … Expression from her home in South Africa. Letter 6736 - Gray, A. & J. L …
  • … Expression during a trip to Egypt. Letter 7223 - Darwin to Wedgwood, L. C., …
  • … expression of emotion in her pet dog and birds. Letter 5817 - Darwin to Huxley, T. …
  • … is making similar observations for him. Letter 6535 - Vaughan Williams , M. S. …
  • … of a crying baby to Darwin's daughter, Henrietta. Letter 7179 - Wedgwood, …
  • … briefly on her ongoing observations of wormholes. Letter 8611 - Cupples, A. J. …
  • … expression of emotion in dogs with Emma Darwin. Letter 8676 - Treat, M. to Darwin, …
  • Letter 4436 - Darwin to Hooker, J. D., [26-27 March 1864] Darwin thanks Hooker for …
  • … and orangs. Letter 5705 - Haast, J. F. J. von to Darwin, [4 December 1867] …
  • … in a marble tablet”. Letter 6815 - Scott, J. to Darwin, [2 July 1869] John …
  • … Men: Letter 385  - Wedgwood, S. E. & J. to Darwin, [10 November 1837] …
  • … Hall, Staffordshire. Letter 1219  - Hooker, J. D. to Darwin, [3 February 1849] …
  • Letter 10390 - Herrick, S. M. B . to Darwin, [12 February 1876] Sophia Herrick …
  • … Men: Letter 1836  - Berkeley, M. J. to Darwin, [7 March 1856] Clergyman and …
  • … to feed to them. Letter 2069  - Tenant, J. to Darwin, [31 March 1857] James …
  • … University of Bonn. Letter 6046  - Weir, J. J. to Darwin, [24 March 1868] …
  • … future. Letter 4038 - Darwin to Lyell, C., [12-13 March 1863] Darwin …
  • Letter 7858 - Darwin to Wa llace, A. R., [12 July 1871] Darwin tells Wallace that …
  • … style and clarity. Letter 5403  - Darwin to Carus,  J. V.  [17 February 1867] …
  • Letter 3316  - Darwin to Nevill, D. F., [12 November 1861] Darwin requests the …

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: 24 hits

  • … & I am sick of correcting’ ( Correspondence  vol. 16, letter to W. D. Fox, 12 December [1868 …
  • … Well it is a beginning, & that is something’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, [22 January 1869] ). …
  • … made any blunders, as is very likely to be the case’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 13 January 1869 ). …
  • … than I now see is possible or probable’ (see also letter to A. R. Wallace, 22 January [1869] , …
  • … is strengthened by the facts in distribution’ ( letter to James Croll, 31 January [1869] ). Darwin …
  • … tropical species using Croll’s theory. In the same letter to Croll, Darwin had expressed …
  • … a very long period  before  the Cambrian formation’ ( letter to James Croll,  31 January [1869] …
  • … data to go by, but don’t think we have got that yet’ ( letter from James Croll, 4 February 1869 ). …
  • … I d  have been less deferential towards [Thomson]’ ( letter to T. H. Huxley, 19 March [1869] ). …
  • … completed revisions of the ‘everlasting old Origin’ ( letter to Asa Gray, 1 June [1869] ), he was …
  • … him however in his researches I would willingly do so’ ( letter from Robert Elliot to George …
  • … with his noisy courting of the female in the garden ( letter from Frederick Smith, 8 October 1869 …
  • … doubted her ability to recognise the different varieties ( letter to W. B. Tegetmeier, 25 February …
  • … weary of everlasting males & females, cocks & hens.—’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 13 November …
  • … with much more of the same description’ ( enclosure to letter from Henry Maudsley, 20 May 1869 ). …
  • … in an additional & proximate cause in regard to Man’ ( letter to A. R. Wallace, 14 April 1869 …
  • … orang-utan, and the bird of paradise  (Wallace 1869a; letter to A. R. Wallace, 22 March [1869] ) …
  • … does himself an injustice & never demands justice’ ( letter to A. R. Wallace, 14 April 1869 ). …
  • … geological structures of the South American cordillera ( letter to Charles Lyell, 20 May 1869 ), …
  • … he had studied in the early 1860s ( letter to W. C. Tait, 12 and 16 March 1869 ). This research …
  • … June, formed the basis for a new German edition (Bronn and Carus trans. 1870), prepared by Julius …
  • … [her] to translate “Domestic Animals”’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 19 November [1869] ). Angered by …
  • … poured boiling oil over the bumptious man’ ( letter from J. D. Hooker,  7 September 1869 ). Huxley …
  • … suggestions to its publisher, Macmillan ( letter from J. D. Hooker, 14 November 1869 ).  Darwin …

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: 22 hits

  • … I omitted to observe, which I ought to have observed” ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 12 January [1873] …
  • … work your wicked will on it—root leaf & branch!” ( letter from J. D. Hooker, 12 January 1873 ) …
  • … parts of the flower would become modified & correlated” ( letter to T. H. Farrer, 14 August …
  • … Seeing an advance notice for the book, Julius Victor Carus wrote in May to request permission to …
  • … it again, “for Heaven knows when it will be ready” ( letter to John Murray, 4 May [1873] ). …
  • … we take notes and take tracings of their burrows” ( letter from Francis Darwin, 14 August [1873] ) …
  • … in importance; and if so more places will be created” ( letter to E. A. Darwin, 20 September 1873 …
  • … our unfortunate family being fit for continuous work” ( letter from E. A. Darwin, 25 September …
  • … of November 1872 and sold quickly. He wrote to Hooker on 12 January [1873] , “Did I ever boast to …
  • … on any point; for I knew my own ignorance before hand” ( letter to George Cupples, 28 April [1873] …
  • … “he would fly at the Empr’s throat like a bulldog” ( letter from L. M. Forster to H. E. Litchfield, …
  • … force & truth of the great principle of inheritance!” ( letter to F. S. B. F. de Chaumont, 3 …
  • … the heavy breathing that accompanied sexual intercourse? (letter from ?, [1873?]). The Scottish …
  • … with up lines; & sadness & decay with the reverse—” ( letter from William Main, 2 April …
  • … with the advance of civilisation and good breeding ( letter from Henry Reeks, 3 March 1873 ). …
  • … have never felt an inclination to have a second dose” ( letter from Robert Swinhoe, 26 March 1873 …
  • … of an orbital one produces snapping of the jaws” ( letter from James Crichton-Browne, 16 April 1873 …
  • … that illustrated the physiognomy of the disease ( letter to James Crichton-Browne, 30 December 1873 …
  • … by an individual could be transmitted to its offspring ( letter from J. T. Moggridge, 1 February …
  • … friend— but he is a deal too sharp” ( letter from J. D. Hooker, [7 April 1873] ). A group …
  • … forced him to take periodic breaks from work ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 21 February [1873] ). They …
  • … new facts which I have to compare & judge of” ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 20 December [1873] ). …

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: 19 hits

  • … than insectivorous plants. As he confessed to Hooker on 12 December , ‘I have not felt so angry …
  • … On 8 January , he told Hooker: ‘I will write a savage letter & that will do me some good, if I …
  • … from his family, he sent a curt note to Mivart on 12 January , breaking off all future …
  • … to the Editor … Poor Murray shuddered again & again’ ( letter from J. D. Hooker, 16 January …
  • … of a bill that was presented to the House of Commons on 12 May, one week after a rival bill based on …
  • … offered to pay the costs for printing an additional 250 ( letter to John Murray, 3 May 1875 ). …
  • … & bless the day That ever you were born (letter from E. F. Lubbock, [after 2 …
  • … that the originally red half has become wholly white’ ( letter from G. J. Romanes, [before 4 …
  • … pp. 188–90). He drew attention to this discussion in a letter to George Rolleston, remarking on 2 …
  • … Darwin wrote, ‘I beg ten thousand pardon & more’ ( letter to Francis Darwin, [ c . February …
  • … signed himself, ‘Your affect son … the proofmaniac’ ( letter from Francis Darwin, 1 and 2 May [1875 …
  • … both critical and reverential. On 16 July he received a letter from an advocate of women’s …
  • … The author, Fritz Schultze, contacted Darwin himself on 12 June , describing the aims of his book …
  • … her presentation copy of Insectivorous plants ( letter to D. F. Nevill, 15 July [1875] ). Such …
  • … of my house within the short time I can talk to anyone’ ( letter to John Lubbock, 3 May [1875] ). …
  • … and had agreed to see him at Down with Thiselton-Dyer ( letter to W. T. Thiselton-Dyer, 7 July 1875 …
  • … scientific Socy. has done in my time,’ he told Hooker on 12 December . ‘I wish that I knew what …
  • … lay of hair in eyelashes and on arms, a typically lengthy letter full of personal observations, …
  • … examination it was pronounced to be of a ‘high type’ ( letter from Woodward Emery, 17 September …

Darwin in letters,1866: Survival of the fittest

Summary

The year 1866 began well for Charles Darwin, as his health, after several years of illness, was now considerably improved. In February, Darwin received a request from his publisher, John Murray, for a new edition of  Origin. Darwin got the fourth…

Matches: 20 hits

  • … Pound foolish, Penurious, Pragmatical Prigs’ ( letter from J. D. Hooker, [29 December 1866] ). But …
  • … able to write easy work for about 1½ hours every day’ ( letter to H. B. Jones, 3 January [1866] ). …
  • … once daily to make the chemistry go on better’ ( letter from H. B. Jones, 10 February [1866] ). …
  • … see you out with our beagles before the season is over’ ( letter from John Lubbock, 4 August 1866 …
  • … work doing me any harm—any how I can’t be idle’ ( letter to W. D. Fox, 24 August [1866] ). …
  • … production of which Tegetmeier had agreed to supervise ( letter to W. B. Tegetmeier, 16 January …
  • … of “Domestic Animals & Cult. Plants” to Printers’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 24 December [1866] …
  • … good deal I think, & have come to more definite views’ ( letter to T. H. Huxley, 22 December …
  • … ‘I quite follow you in thinking Agassiz glacier-mad’ ( letter to Charles Lyell, 8[–9] September …
  • … ten times more than the belief of a dozen physicists’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, [28 February 1866] …
  • … past few years. Emma described the Royal Society event in a letter to George: ‘Your father … entered …
  • … you—& told me to worship Bence Jones in future—’ ( letter from J. D. Hooker, 13 May 1866 ). …
  • … then went for ¾ to Zoolog. Garden!!!!!!!!!’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, [28 April 1866] ). …
  • … much to see him, though I dread all exertion’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, [12 May 1866] ). Darwin’s …
  • … development ( see for example, letter to C. W. Nägeli, 12 June [1866] ). Also in March, however, …
  • … & admit how little is known on the subject’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 3 and 4 August [1866] ). …
  • … see how differently we look at every thing’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 5 August [1866] ). Yet both …
  • … same thing in a different light from you’ ( letter from J. D. Hooker, 7 August 1866 ). The two …
  • … on 18 August, bringing his ‘blessed mss’ ( letter from J. D. Hooker, [17 August 1866] ). Hooker …
  • … indirect a bearing to be worth noticing’ ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 31 May [1866] ). Most of …