Sends to Pantlludw [North Wales] bottle of formic acid. FD and Amy [Darwin] can search for spawn. If found, keep in two basins and add 6 drops of acid to one and look for differences.

"Try only 1 or 2 drops of Formic A[cid]."

Fears all the seeds are dead. Will try with less vapour of formic acid.

Observations on bees’ biting holes in Lathyrus.

Suggests an experiment FD could carry out with Drosera.

CD is working on Mimosa, and "everything has turned out as perversely as possible".

Asks FD to bring any book that gives the affinities of the various earths, alkalis and metals.

Lists observations he would like FD to make on the dried species of Desmodium at Kew.

Wants FD to look at the little lateral leaflets of Desmodium. CD has "a wild hypothesis that the little leaflets may be tendrils reconverted into leaflets".

Asks FD to come early to write from dictation.

Thanks Amy for her drawing of Utricularia montana.

Asks FD to make out [Hermann] Hoffmann’s conclusions about the fertilisation of Phaseolus multiflorus [in Untersuchungen zur Bestimmung des Werthes von Species und Varietät (1869)].

Begs FD’s pardon: his notes on Utricularia amethystina are on same page with those on U. nelumbifolia.

Has been examining Utricularia minor. Same essential structure but catches smaller Entomostraca. One bladder had 24, another 20, and another 15 Entomostraca. "What slaughter! We must make out the functions of the beast––".

Sends a chapter [of Insectivorous plants]. Never was there anything so dull, but later chapters will be better. Please correct an error on p. 86.

FD has sent proofs; nutating of Ricinus; Horace Darwin and the wormograph.

Thanks for sending Nature; plans to leave on 22 May; anecdote about Bernard.

Thinks it would be a good idea to give the typing machine to Karl Semper.

Sleep of Porlieria hygrometrica seems independent of light.

Will have lots of time for oats. W. F. P. Pfeffer’s point is that there is no growth in sleepers with joints. A. F. Batalin says there is a slight growth.

[Dated Saturday 28th by FD.]

He has been talking to Julius von Sachs about sleeping plants that move with and without growth.

Sleep in Porlieria studied.

Oats begin germinating.

Chlorophyll development in oat seedling.

Lists the sleeping plants he has seen.

Julius Sachs thinks Hugo de Vries has not cleared up everything [about climbing plants]. But Sachs has not worked on the mechanical problem.

More sleepers from green-house.

Julius Sachs’s view of climbing plants: he distinguishes between nutation to find a support and growth after support is found.