Suggests GHD write a supplement to his review [of A. H. Huth’s The marriage of near kin (1875)]. Feels sorry Huth was taken in by the Legrain fraud. [See Autobiography (1958), pp. 143–4.]
Suggests GHD write a supplement to his review [of A. H. Huth’s The marriage of near kin (1875)]. Feels sorry Huth was taken in by the Legrain fraud. [See Autobiography (1958), pp. 143–4.]
CD’s suspicions that Legrain falsified experiments on interbred rabbits are like second sight. Has sent a copy of the letter to A. H. Huth.
Henry Sidgwick and A. J. Balfour are "spiritualising" again.
Orders Andrew Knight’s paper ["An account of some experiments on the fecundation of vegetables", Philos. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. (1799): 195–204] and J. E. Gray’s book [Gleanings from the menagerie and aviary at Knowsley Hall (1846)].
Doubts ostrich descended from reptiles. Its ancestors true birds. Of course, all birds descended from reptiles. Compares foetus of birds to that of reptiles.
Acknowledges presentation copy of Insectivorous plants.
Studying Drosera on vacation in Bohemia. Thinks CD has erred in considering "aggregation" to have occurred in the protoplasm. Suggests it is result of exosmosis of vacuole.
Errata in first edition of Insectivorous plants.
Obliged for his memoir ["On the avifauna of the Galapagos", Trans. Zool. Soc. (April 1875)]. His surprise that the birds from the different islands prove so similar. Comparison of the habits, nests, eggs of the commonest species of each island would throw a flood of light upon variation.
Thanks for articles about moths sucking oranges.
Sends a moth from Queensland, Australia. The sender says a large number have been caught with proboscises embedded in oranges. CD interested as having a bearing on his Orchis work. Can AGB name the family and any closely allied English genus? The proboscis seems an extraordinary structure [see F. Darwin, "On the structure of the proboscis of Ophideres fullonica", Q. J. Microsc. Sci. n.s. 15 (1875): 384–9].
"The moth is rightly named Ophideres Fullonica." Gives its range, family, allied European and British species, etc.
Responds to FJC’s criticism regarding "aggregation" as it occurs in protoplasm [see 10131].
R. Cooke has complained about the size of paper on which proofs are printed. He does not know that CD requested a larger size. Asks CD what should be done.
Clarifies his thoughts on "aggregation" in Drosera.
Has read RF’s pamphlet on New Zealand [Remarks on New Zealand (1846)]. Sympathises with his difficulties as Governor.
Reports a competition between the air roots of two varieties of grapevines. The victor changed the flavour and shape of the loser’s fruit.
Sends copy of his "Address [to the department of anthropology", Rep. BAAS 45 (1875): 142–56].
Notes criticism of remark by Walter Bagehot dealing with extinction of barbarians [cited in Descent 1: 239].
Sends a copy of his book [The royal tiger of Bengal (1875)].
Cannot believe in possibility that the duck is a hybrid, but correlation accords with some other facts.
Requests specimens of berries and more information about the Madresfield Court vine.
Regrets he will not return home in time to see WDW.
Thanks JF for his book.
At present has no observations he wishes made in India.