Summary

Asks for a note about sling for Leonard’s arm, as he is about to leave for school.

Summary

Thanks AG for his trouble about expression queries; wishes he had thought earlier of having them printed.

Is "plodding on" correcting Variation

and getting "a little amusement" from plant experiments. Oxalis is trimorphic like Lythrum.

Is continuing his experiments on seedling vigour.

Has heard hybrid potatoes can be produced by joining halves of different tubers.

Summary

Rejoices over baby’s improvement.

Horace Darwin has intermittent fever.

Thanks JDH for page of the Farmer, a great service.

R. Trail’s potato grafting case would be of extreme value for demonstrating Pangenesis. [See Variation 1: 395.]

Summary

Asks JM not to send stereotypes [of Variation] to Schweizerbart until he has heard that Carus will translate it.

Summary

Congratulates TB on his son’s success in scientific studies.

Susan Darwin’s death [Oct 1866] has severed last ties of family with Shrewsbury.

Summary

C. Nägeli’s long letter on his four years of work on Hieracium appears to be valuable. Nägeli wants a set of British forms in exchange for German ones.

Sends note on a new genus of Umbelliferae (Drusa) in Canaries; speculates on origin.

Summary

Thanks for his long letter on morphological laws.

Summary

CD writes about stereotypes for German and Russian editions of Variation.

Summary

CD is delighted that JVC will undertake translation of Variation.

Agrees with JVC’s opinion of Haeckel’s book [Generelle Morphologie (1866)]. CD believes it is bad policy for Haeckel to speak so positively about a disputed theory [i.e., CD’s] and particularly regrets the severity of EH’s criticisms of other authors.

Summary

Would be great honour to have CV translate Variation, but Schweizerbart has arranged for J. V. Carus to do it.

Has read CV’s Lectures on man [1864] with extreme interest.

Summary

Struck by singular clarity of EH’s Generelle Morphologie. Remarks on various authors seem too severe. Severity leads the reader to take the side of the attacked person.

Making slow progress in correcting Variation.

Summary

Agrees with JDH about Anderson-Henry. He has however described in detail a curious case of the ovaria of Rhododendron directly affected by foreign pollen, like the Chamaerops and date-palm case.

Summary

Reassures JVC [who had received the impression that CD would prefer Carl Vogt as translator of Variation].

CD surprised at receipt of an application for a Russian translation.

Summary

Sends the revisions in the latest edition of Origin.

Summary

Self-sterility in orchids.

Growth differences in plants raised from self- and cross-fertilised seed.

Summary

Has sent JDH’s Genera plantarum to Fritz Müller who finds it useful and offers to supply JDH with Brazilian plants.

Summary

Comments on ARW’s view of colouring in relation to sexual selection and protection. It is not new to CD. Hopes to discuss subject fully in his "Essay on Man" [Descent]. As to the problem of brightly coloured females, CD is not satisfied that it is due to males taking over incubation. Admires "value and beauty" of ARW’s generalisations.

Summary

Regrets that he is too busy getting his book [Variation] ready for publication to contribute an article to Fraser’s Magazine.