Summary

Sends thanks for a newspaper abstract; will be pleased to see the paper [probably "Economy as a phonetic force", Trans. Am. Philological Assoc.8 (1877): 123–34] when printed.

Sends his own ["Biographical sketch of an infant"], saying it is of little value, the observations having been made before recent advances in philology.

Summary

Thanks CD for permission to quote his comments; mentions some of his conclusions with regard to the early speech of children.

Thanks for [newspaper] account of American Philological Association meeting.

Summary

Discusses plants to be sent to Kew.

Thanks for letter about Trifolium

and for R. I. Lynch’s observations on sleep of Erythrina.

Mentions letter from F. J. Cohn, dealing with discovery by Francis Darwin, that CD has had printed in Nature ["The contractile filaments of the teasel", Nature 16 (1877): 339; Collected papers 2: 205–7].

Summary

Comments on GJR’s papers in Nature [see 11103].

Mentions manuscript by Miss Lawless on fertilisation in plants.

Discusses work of Francis Darwin on Dipsacus

and his own experiments on Drosera.

Summary

CD is delighted with report from THF about activity of worms in Roman-British ruins at Abinger.

Summary

CD sends his thanks for LN’s book [Der Ursprung der Sprache] and for the obliging words on the title page.

Summary

Believes in differentiated nerve-tracts [in Medusa] because of experiment in which contractile waves blocked. [See GJR’s "Evolution of nerves", Nature 16 (1877): 231–3, 269–71, 289–93.] Did not know author of MS was Miss Lawless. Describes experiment on contractile waves in Aurelia. Also studying starfish.

Summary

Comments on JC’s paper ["On the tidal retardation argument for the age of the earth", Rep. BAAS (1876): 88–9].

Summary

Sends a dividend.

Recommends a novel but is sure Emma will not like it.

Summary

Response to Wallace’s article ["The colours of animals and plants", Macmillan’s Mag. (Sept 1877)] on sexual colours and "voluntary" sexual selection.

Summary

Obliged for essay on plants of Greece.

Summary

Sends paper on Greek plants.

Summary

Requests plants that show movement, and any with "bloom" living near the sea.

Summary

Will be interested in reading AdeC’s paper on Smilax. The transition from hermaphroditic to unisexual condition is a perplexing problem.

CD agrees that there is much justice in AdeC’s criticism of his use of the terms "object", "end", and "purpose" but thinks "those who believe that organs have been gradually modified by natural selection for a special purpose, may I think use the above terms correctly though no conscious being has intervened".

CD and Francis are hard at work on the function of "bloom" but CD doubts that the experiments will tell them much.

Does AdeC have a decided opinion on whether plants with glaucous leaves are more frequent in hot or dry than in cold or wet countries?

Francis has been getting "striking" results from feeding meat to Drosera.

Summary

CD forwards letter from F. J. Cohn [11093] that provides confirmation of observations by Francis Darwin on the contractile filaments protruded from the glands of Dipsacus.

Summary

Thanks GC for his new work [La teoria dell’evoluzione esposta (1877)]. CD regrets he cannot read Italian.

Summary

Action of heavy rain on the leaves of Robinia.

Summary

Asks WED to make some observations on Acacia or Robinia.

Summary

Praises unbroken series of CD’s and Francis [Darwin]’s botanical works.

Confirms FD’s Dipsacus observations. Problem of interpreting microscopic filaments as protoplasm or as inorganic and osmotic artifacts.

Summary

Thanks for plants.

Thanks R. I. Lynch for information about "bloom" on leaves.

WTT-D should not write to Mr Smith about plants near seashore.