CD has been so ill they must discourage visit by WDF. Recovering slowly with new treatment.
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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.
CD has been so ill they must discourage visit by WDF. Recovering slowly with new treatment.
Urges WDF to send trap he has invented to the exhibition and competition of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Advertisement of Brailsford’s Patent Vermin Trap enclosed.
The Copley Medal is considered a great honour, but such things make little difference to CD, except for the several kind letters he received. It shows that natural selection is making some progress.
His health is poor.
Work is crawling on Variation;
occasional botany recreative.
Bad health during last six months has prevented scientific work.
News of family.
Family news. Describes [final] illness of Susan Darwin [d. 3 Oct 1866]. CD’s health better.
Making rapid progress on Variation.
Has heard of hybrids between moths mentioned by WDF.
Work on [4th] edition of Origin has delayed Variation.
Has just sent MS of Variation off to printer. Is in darkness about its merits.
News of family and their health. Riding seems to help him.
There is so much detail in Variation that WDF will never be able to finish it. Some chapters, like that on reversion, are "curious".
Is working on "Sexual selection"; asks WDF to send observations on birds’ finding new mates during breeding season [see Descent 2: 103–7].
WDF’s letter gives CD the kind of facts he wants. His story about peacocks is so good that CD will quote it [Descent 2: 46].
Pleased WDF approves of his book [Variation]
– "beloved Pangenesis disagrees badly with many".
Reminds WDF to write about the "great magpie marriage". Sexual selection an "everlasting subject".
News of his children.
Asks for information on instances of sexual preference in animals and data on numbers of males and females born in various domesticated species.
Much interested in WDF’s letter on inheritance and courtship of birds. CD "in a great muddle" on many points.
Asks for further information on proportion of sexes in sheep.
Thanks WDF for information about sheep and cattle.
Mentions corrections for new edition of Origin [5th ed. (1869)].