Reference to description of Begonia phyllomaniaca.
Thanks for the explicit account of Pangenesis. Thinks he now follows CD’s ideas but Pangenesis is very difficult and speculative.
Oliver has lost his little girl.
Sends copies of Science gossip and The leisure hour.
Enjoyed visit.
His criticism of Primula fertility referred to table 2 [Collected papers 2: 56] where weight of seeds produced from good pods by long-styled homostylous cross and short-styled heterostylous cross are virtually identical.
Pleased CD does not consider review of his works prejudiced [Anon., "Darwin and his teachings", Q. J. Sci. 3 (1866): 151–76].
Supports gradual development of species over time.
Confused by the metaphysical view implied in the analogy between a creative power that has made new species and artificial selection governed by human reason (Origin, 3d ed., p. 492).
Doubts natural selection.
Cites his discussion of the origin of Infusoria [Proc. R. Soc. Lond. 14 (1865): 546–7].
Structure of Scaevola and its fertilisation with insect aid.
Fertilisation of Aristolochia.
FM’s paper on climbing plants [see 5146].
Is preparing new edition of Origin.
Sad about Oliver’s loss.
JDH’s reference to odd Begonia at same time as an article about it came out in Gardeners’ Chronicle [(1866): 313–14].
Is astonished that Pangenesis seems perplexing to JDH. Pleads guilty to its being "wildly abominably speculative (worthy even of Herbert Spencer)".
Invites CD to dine and meet Alphonse de Candolle.
Has been offered proof impressions of Maguire’s portrait of CD.
Sorry to hear of CD’s "heap of maladies".
Georgina [Tollet?] wants to see the review in the Quarterly Journal of Science [3 (1866): 151–76].
CD elected honorary member of the Royal Irish Academy.
Queries for John Smith [Kew curator] on crossing a cucumber variety.
Cannot support another edition of Origin, so unable to send English pages. Suggests some of his other works that might be worth translating into German.
Gustav von Leonhard and Hans Bruno Geinitz’s Neues Jahrbuch für Mineralogie, Geologie und Paläontologie [1862–79] unfriendly to CD’s theory.
Lists various German publications dealing with CD’s theory.
Tameness of whales and porpoises.
AG’s second article on Climbing plants [Am. J. Sci. 2d ser. 41 (1866): 125–30].
Fritz Müller’s observations on Rubiaceae.
New edition [4th] of Origin.
Asks for additional details of Confessions of a Metaphysician.
F. Hildebrand, in his recent article [Bot. Ztg. 10 (1866): 73–8], describes what GH showed CD about Indigofera’s irritability.
Reports that his father has given up the idea of publishing a new edition of the Origin but points out that H. B. Geinitz of Dresden has, to date, only written against CD’s theory.
Describes the pollination of broom by bees.
Anecdotes about appreciation of beauty by animals.
CD has followed Lyell’s advice and avoided controversy over Origin but encourages BDW to attack S. H. Scudder and others who argue foolishly or misquote him.
Expects R. Caspary’s paper to be published soon.
Reports the conclusions of another of RC’s papers on the movement of tree branches due to cold [Bull. Congr. Int. Bot. & Hortic. Lond. (1866): 98–117]
and discusses a paper by H. Lecoq on the mountain flora of the Auvergne [Proc. Bot. Congr. (1866): 158–65]. He disagrees with CD on glaciation and its effect on geographical distribution.