Summary

Intends to get his ideas on the "wearing out" of varieties printed.

This year’s crosses were failures.

Summary

Answers EK’s questions. Sorry to report Erasmus Darwin sold only 600 copies at advance sale.

Summary

Reports on roots and climbing plants experiments he is performing in Sachs’ laboratory. Orchids with air roots have come. Goebel says proshelic better than helic.

Summary

Describes bean experiments. Will tell Emma Darwin to tell Elizabeth Darwin that he has written to the Riffel.

Summary

CD will attend to ELK’s suggestions, but there is plenty of time, because Dallas translates slowly and Murray will not publish the book before November.

Summary

Suggests experiments to test the response of radicles to light. Considers an alternative term for heliotropism.

Will be curious to have FD’s spiral theory about circumnutation explained to him.

Summary

Were the hybrid geese FBG sent to CD brother and sister from the same hatch? CD intends to send a letter on their breeding to Nature [Collected papers 2: 219–20].

Summary

Details of family history. Has discovered Dr Darwin did get to Edinburgh before his son, Charles, died.

The more CD reads of Dr Darwin the higher he rises in his estimation.

Is tired of writing letters, "half the fools throughout Europe write to ask me the stupidest questions".

Summary

Going to London today to speak to T. H. Farrer about funds for potato breeding experiments. "I have told Farrer I would subscribe £50."

Summary

Will try to get Ipomoea and Megarrhiza seeds for CD.

Summary

Searching for the right gardener.

Summary

Asks CD for reference to the edition of Kosmos that contains the original of Ernst Krause’s article on Dr Erasmus Darwin. There are serious differences between the translation by W. S. Dallas and the Feb [1879] article by Krause on which CD, in the preface to Erasmus Darwin, says it was based. SB notes in particular that the concluding sentence of the translation, which is clearly aimed at [SB’s] Evolution, old and new, is not in the original. Since readers will assume the text of Erasmus Darwin was written before his book appeared, SB asks for an explanation.

Summary

Notes observations on sensitivity and movement of radicles.

Has finished chapter [of Movement in plants] on sleeping plants and is now looking over heliotropism notes.

Is perplexed by Erasmus Darwin; Erasmus [A. Darwin] likes it, but Henrietta thinks it much too long.

Summary

Sends copy of a lecture [by John Dowson, see 11949] published in 1861.

Has not yet found a copy of Anna Seward’s biography for EK. It is a wretched, inaccurate book. To contradict Anna Seward’s version, CD intends to write a short preface to the translation of EK’s essay. Doubts that it will be worth translating into German.

Summary

Wishes to subscribe to RM’s translation of Weismann.

Has seen Scudder’s article.

A. R. Wallace’s article ["Animals and their native countries", Nineteenth Century 5 (1879): 247–59] is excellent.

Summary

Encloses reply to Butler [Kosmos 8 (1881): 321–2]. Has also written a reply intended for English reader. Will have it translated for Popular Science Review if CD thinks suitable.

Report of Jäger accident was an error.

Kosmos has been purchased by Eduard Koch in Stuttgart and will continue as in the past.

Summary

Caroline Darwin says mysterious visitor’s name was Brand. It was in time of Colonel Pole. Never visited Mrs Pole or Mrs Darwin [Elizabeth Collier], but sent respectful messages.

Summary

Perhaps movement from side to side in plants is caused by the contraction of one side, rather than the expansion of the other.

Sends seeds of Lychnis Githago: he observed the hypocotyledenous stem, not the root, contracting.

Summary

Encloses a letter [from Fritz Müller, see 11839] which "eminently deserves to be published in Nature". Discusses the form and illustration needed. Spelling problems to be referred to Robert McLachlan.

Summary

Is sorry that LW’s circumstances interfere with his scientific work. Does not think any English scientific society can help.