Has examined Leschenaultia and concludes the external viscid surfaces have nothing to do with the stigmatic surface. Agrees with CD’s style and nectary conclusions; accounts for their form and position in irregular flowers by describing floral development.

[Enclosed are some queries by CD with answers by JDH. Gives information on seed setting by Mucuna

and an opinion on the abruptness of N. and S. limits of plant ranges.]

Queries on expression among Fuegians and Patagonians.

Discusses phases of climate.

Describes fossil mammals discovered by Auguste Bravard in South America.

Has had argument with Bishop of Oxford [Samuel Wilberforce] about CD’s book [Origin].

Discusses review in Annals and Magazine of Natural History. Guesses that T. V. Wollaston is the author.

Discusses evidence of shells on Madeira.

Comments on paper by Wallace ["On the zoological geography of the Malay Archipelago", J. Proc. Linn. Soc. Lond. (Zool.) 4 (1860): 172–84].

Sends address.

Sends CD passages from A. S. Taylor’s book [On poisons in relation to medical jurisprudence and medicine, 2d ed. (1859)], citing smallest portions of poisons that are chemically detectable. "Drosera beats the chemists hollow."

Explains discrepancies in weights and measures caused by changes since 1836 in apothecaries’ measures.

EC has found that a discrepancy in A. W. von Hofmann’s experiments with iodine solutions resulted from an error in Hofmann’s use of decimals.

Reports S. P. Woodward’s opinion of the Origin: "a very sad book, it unsettles all one’s religious principles and the worst of it is so much of it is true".

CD’s divergent series explains those anomalous plants that hover between what would otherwise be two species in a genus.

Inclined to see conifers as a sub-series of dicotyledons that developed in parallel to monocotyledons, but retained cryptogamic characters.

Mentions H. C. Watson’s view of variations.

Man has destroyed more species than he has created varieties.

Variations are centrifugal because the chances are a million to one that identity of form once lost will return.

In the human race, we find no reversion "that would lead us to confound a man with his ancestors".

AJ, a collector, would like a few lines from CD and an autographed photograph.

Has reread JDH’s paper ["On the functions of the rostellum of Listera ovata", Philos. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. 144 (1854): 259–64].

Tells of shooting wood-pigeons that had in their crops acorns that did not grow locally.

[Fragment of letter glued to 2197.]

Pigeons in Egypt alight on trees rather than on the mud hovels of the natives [see Variation 1: 181].

[Two fragments glued to 2196.]

Prepared to think world infinitely old, but not that life originated with a single cell. Questions whether geological evidence supports gradual progress in organisation. HW thought scientific opinion during Vestiges debate was against this hypothesis. Argues that presence of same senses in lower animals and vertebrates does not imply descent; assumes resemblance is due to living in same world and thus having organs for the same purposes. Wants CD to know how others may see these questions.

Discusses measurements of bees’ cells. Describes modification in structure of Melipona hive. Notes importance of natural selection.

Gives CD references to papers on eyes of lower animals.

Discusses measurements of bees’ cells.

Must prepare new edition of Origin.

Discusses structure of beehives. Mentions writings of Chauncey Wright on bees’ cells ["Remarks on the architecture of bees", Proc. Am. Acad. Arts & Sci. 4 (1857–60): 432–3].

Discusses measurements of bees’ cells.

Thanks for information about the weight of water.

Describes experiments on Drosera.

Glacial action in the Andes.

Origin of Chilean sheep.

Varieties of S. American horses.

Facts and inferences relating to different varieties of sweetpeas.