Thanks JL for saving him from "a disgraceful blunder". Following their conversation he has divided the New Zealand flora as JL suggested and finds genera with four or more species are more variable than those with three or less. It will take several weeks to go back over all his material.

Huxley and William Sharpey praise JL’s paper [? on Daphnia, Philos. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. 147 (1857): 79–100] at Philosophical Club.

Thanks for queen-bee larva and pupa.

Nervous system of Coccus.

Praise for abstract of JL’s paper on insects ["On the ova and pseudova of insects", Proc. R. Soc. Lond. 9 (1857–9): 574–83].

Variations in the structure of Pelargonium flowers.

Voting to elect JL [a member of Athenaeum].

Gives CD references to papers on eyes of lower animals.

Invites JL to dine and meet J. S. Henslow.

Comments and criticisms on JL’s paper [possibly: "On the development of Chloëon dimidiatum", Trans. Linn. Soc. Lond. 24 (1863): 61–78].

JL’s brother’s accident.

Thinks JL should tackle systematics of anomalous insects from studies of internal organs.

Is sorry to hear of bad health of CD and his daughter.

Discusses, with an example, the difficulty of explaining structural differences between closely allied species.

CD sees JL’s cases of same organs varying greatly in allied forms as a serious difficulty in regard to his own ideas.

Development of aphids; apparent absence of vermiform stage.

Wants examples of insects (especially Diptera) in which embryo resembles adult, to show that the metamorphic stages may be lost.

Embryology of Diptera. Development of insects; metamorphosis. JL feels all insects go through metamorphosis but that in some of them, part takes place before birth.

Wants JL’s opinion on paper by L. J. M. Dufour ["Études anatomiques sur les insectes diptères de la famille des pupipares", C. R. Hebd. Acad. Sci. 19 (1844): 1345–55].

Asks JL not to call as he has a "very old friend" [J. S. Henslow] coming to visit him.

Yesterday visited poultry show at Crystal Palace.

Has told John Murray to send copy of the Origin. There are "many valid and weighty arguments against my notions".

CD’s former admiration for Paley’s Natural theology [1802].

Cares not for reviews [of Origin] but for opinions of men like Lubbock, Huxley, Hooker, Lyell.

Is preparing a reprint of Origin. Asks JL’s opinion on the book’s merits; values his judgment.