Improvement in orthography would be national benefit, but cannot contribute to WV’s paper.

Sends four wrist bands, and advice on putting them on. George is well. Can easily get worm castings. Lilly and Mlle Wild arrived in a storm to stay the night. Is much amused by Sedgwick’s ferocious letter about Vestiges.

Thanks for sending him a copy of the striking passage from Kepler.

Would be glad to have a set of plates for Movement in plants.

Will be happy to translate CD’s new book [Movement in plants]. Asks how large the book will be.

Found worm-casts atop a 2555–foot hill.

CD is ashamed of length of Movement in plants – with index, nearly 600 pages. JVC will be awfully sick of ch. 1.

In intervals of correcting proofs, he is writing on the formation of vegetable mould through the action of worms. It will be a curious little book [Earthworms].

Comments on WB’s paper ["Über Variabilitäts-Erscheinungen an den Blüthen von Primula elatior und eine Anwendung des biogenetischen Grundgesetzes", Bot. Ztg. 38 (1880): 577–80].

Sends his paper ["Oceans and continents", Geol. Mag. 7 (1880): 385–91].

Thinks John Murray of Edinburgh goes out of his way to deny an elevation/subsidence view of coral reefs ["On the structure and origin of coral reefs and islands", Proc. R. Soc. Edinburgh 10 (1878–80): 505–18].

Obliged for paper ["Oceans and continents" (1880)].

Agrees that John Murray’s view [of coral reefs] is far-fetched.

Invitation to an address by T. H. Huxley at Josiah Mason's Science College in Birmingham.

Sends formal regrets that he cannot accept luncheon invitation or attend Huxley’s address [at opening of Mason College, Birmingham].

Supervising French translation of Movement in plants. Why does not CD consider spontaneous movements of flower parts, which EMH sees also as circumnutation?

Can Alphonse de Candolle see CD?

Asa Gray at Kew; will meet JDH in Italy in December.

Encloses statement of U. S. sales of CD’s works to 1 Aug 1880 and a cheque for the balance due to CD.

Asks whether CD would care to preface the letter of Burt G. Wilder which he forwarded for publication ["Two kinds of vivisection", Nature 22 (1880): 517–18].

Writes a sentence with which to preface B. G. Wilder’s letter [see 12726]. [Not used by and, perhaps, not sent to Nature.]

Has raised about 500 varieties out of the crop of the second generation comprising about 1500 varieties. Growers report immense yield and no disease. Doubts if variety free of disease will live for ever. New varieties must be continually coming into existence.

Sends two preserved pigs (showing some hereditary phenomenon) that the late John Scott intended for CD.

King has all of Scott’s papers.

Grieved to hear of John Scott’s death.

Could GK visit Down?