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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.
Has been investigating nutational movements of climbing plants; comments on the opinions of Julius von Wiesner and Julius Sachs. Remarks on the sleep movements of certain plants and the mechanism of tendril curvature. Is experimenting with Porlieria.
Has visited K. G. Semper’s laboratory.
Notes Julius Sachs’s opinion on the heliotropism of moulds: he can see no use in the response.
C. E. Stahl is working on swarm spores which can be made both helio- and apheliotropic.
Sachs has told him that some ferns sleep, and he suspects that some grasses may move.
Sachs also feels they may be working at bloom from a wrong point of view and suggests leaves may need to keep dry in order to keep their stomata open.
Pollination and floral structure of Lathyrus. Asks where bees bite through the flowers.
Returns corrected proofs [of Insectivorous plants].
CD sends words that he is too busy to work on the Drosera RLT has sent. CD also regrets that the fluid on virgin pitchers of Nepenthes was not tested with white of egg. Until that is done, he doubts whether physiologists would admit the presence of the ferment.
Proofs have come. It will be jolly coming down to Southampton.
FD has asked J. B. Sanderson about Mucin.
Sends proofs of Variation [2d ed.] for FD to look over.
Sends Linnean papers.
Sends thanks for CD’s help in making him a Fellow of the Linnean Society. Dyer has sent some Erinem.
[The black-balling of Edwin Ray Lankester by the Linnean Society] is a most scandalous shame. Will arrange for his own admission to fellowship of the Society.
CD has just had an interview with Edward Frankland, who "almost laughs" at FD’s idea of getting potash and soda out of the soil by treating it with sulphuric acid. Asks FD to send him a soil sample to give to Frankland. Sends enclosures giving address and labels for soil samples.
Good news about Frankland. Expecting burnt earth. Almost finished the Foodbodies Paper on Acacia. He and Amy are learning to use the new printing machine.
Expresses his pride in FD, whose article ["On the structure of the snail’s heart", J. Anat. Physiol. 10 (1876): 506–10] was highly praised by G. H. Lewes.
Lewes has also been quoting FD’s letter in Nature [13 (1876): 384–5] on pycrotoxine in relation to the vivisection controversy.
Was introduced to James Sully, author of the article in Mind on Wilhelm Wundt ["Physiological psychology in Germany", 1 (1876): 20–43]
and Sensation and intuition (1874) [see 10320], by "Mrs Lewes" (George Eliot).
Has read letter from Jemmy. Amy has been practicing on the printing machine. Fritz has come back from the Vicar of Orpington.
Has had a cold. Salvia hasn't come yet. Will look for orchids tomorrow. Will send off bull's-horn acacia on Monday or Tuesday.
Has examined sections of teasel in putrid meat infusion and ammonia.
The Salvia has arrived.
Has found several fly orchids coming in flower, but no Cephalanthera or Musk.
Cannot do any teazel work.
Anthelme Thozet has sent him a lot of Ophideres.
Reports his discovery of the behaviour of protoplasm in teasel cells.
Discusses FD’s observations on the protrusion of protoplasmic masses by cells of the teasel. Suggests analogy with amoeba. "I would work at this subject if I were you, to the point of death."