J. P. Thom [of Home News] must change his position because of his health. Asks if CD can help find him a new situation.
Showing 1–20 of 23 items
The Charles Darwin Collection
The Darwin Correspondence Project is publishing letters written by and to the naturalist Charles Darwin (1809–1882). Complete transcripts of letters are being made available through the Project’s website (www.darwinproject.ac.uk) after publication in the ongoing print edition of The Correspondence of Charles Darwin (Cambridge University Press 1985–). Metadata and summaries of all known letters (c. 15,000) appear in Ɛpsilon, and the full texts of available letters can also be searched, with links to the full texts.
J. P. Thom [of Home News] must change his position because of his health. Asks if CD can help find him a new situation.
Sends first three of his Lectures to working men [on our knowledge of the phenomena of organic nature (1863)]. Does not intend them to be widely circulated.
Sends CD a Chinese breed of guinea-pig. Has heard it claimed that the domestic guinea-pig will not interbreed with the wild rock cavy and that, therefore, artificial selection has formed a new species.
Apologises for not writing last summer. Scientific progress is all but complete. Our civilisation will fall now that it has reached the peak of its development.
Illness has prevented his reading Origin. He has, however, expressed his [negative] opinion on the subject of mutability of species in his Manual of geology [1862]. Since his persuasions are so strong, he can do no less.
On Asa Gray’s letter; has written why he avoids alluding to the war.
Has read Max Müller [see 3752] – last part unphilosophical.
On CD’s pigeon example, long-beaked and short-beaked pigeons must be either sterile or not inter se. There is "no such thing as Equality – hence no such thing as chance and Nat. Sel. is the sword of Damocles hanging over your head if you make a slip in your premisses."
Has read note on Lythrum sent several weeks ago. Its consequences are of most prolific order to CD’s doctrine.
Kew has no wild gooseberries.
JDH praises the Saturday Review reply [14 (1862): 589] to the Duke of Argyll’s bitter review of Orchids ["The supernatural", Edinburgh Rev. 116 (1862): 378–97].
JS not ready to publish on Primula.
Some of his objections to natural selection are based on belief that plants with separate sexes are less variable than those in which sexes are confluent (as in ferns).
Sends his paper on fern varieties [Edinburgh New Philos. J. 2d ser. 16 (1862): 209–27].
Will soon read paper on Drosera irritability [Edinburgh New Philos. J. 2d ser. 17 (1863): 317–18].
How does CD explain capricious distribution of irritability among plants?
P. scotica’s non-dimorphism is native.
Beginning Laelia experiments shortly.
Has forwarded Mitchella roots and Cypripedium.
Will try to procure specimens of native rat and frog for CD. Will be glad to make observations for him.
Cites case of a species of duck that normally nests on ground but builds in trees if disturbed.
A diploma enrolling CD as an honorary member of the Society.
"Throttled off" Welwitschia paper at Linnean Society [Trans. Linn. Soc. Lond. 24 (1863): 1–48].
Has read Tocqueville’s Democracy in America [1835–40] – disagrees with it. Tocqueville says democracy in America is a success. Democracy has persisted because there has been no cause for its overthrow (i.e., no struggle for existence, too much mobility).
Sends J. W. Dawson’s unsatisfactory letter.
Sends 3d ed. of catalogue of rocks [A descriptive catalogue of the rock specimens in the Museum of Practical Geology (1862)].
T. F. Jamieson’s paper on the parallel roads of Glen Roy to be read 20 January. Asks whether CD will be a referee.
Describes a box which has come for CD.
Asks for John Price’s address.
Thinks Bates’s paper on mimetic butterflies ["Contributions to an insect fauna of the Amazon valley", Trans. Linn. Soc. Lond. 23 (1862): 495–566], is very good; would appreciate an article on it from CD ["On mimetic butterflies", Nat. Hist. Rev. (1863): 219–24; Collected papers 2: 87–92].
News of family and friends.
Saw a white rabbit with black-tipped ears on a moor where only brown ones commonly and black ones occasionally dwell.
Thanks for Journal of researches and Origin.
Thanks CD for comments on his fern paper [see 3847 and 3853]; has great difficulty in expressing his ideas.
Discusses inheritance and variation.
Asks CD for an account of the experiments he would like JS to perform.
Thanks CD for agreeing to review Bates’s paper for Natural History Review.
Has had news from Asa Gray about Civil War.
Belatedly thanks CD for Orchids, which shows CD to be the successor to Gilbert White.
On his particular spiritual faith; worships great naturalists and authors.
Does not wish to see American newspapers that Asa Gray offers to send, or hear about Civil War.
Comments on items in the Saturday Review and the Edinburgh Review.