Thanks for Insectivorous plants.
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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.
Thanks for Insectivorous plants.
Thanks for Cross and self-fertilisation.
Discusses geographical implications of inbreeding. Can the length of time an insular flora has been isolated be estimated by its weakness due to inbreeding?
Introduces his son Casimir, who is visiting England.
Thanks for Forms of flowers.
In his Monographiae phanerogamarum [vol. 1 (1878)] he discusses transitional forms of dioecism in three genera of Smilax.
Criticises CD’s use of the words "purpose" and "end", but acknowledges that in English they can mean both cause and effect.
Thanks for Francis Darwin’s Dipsacus paper.
Dislikes the word "protoplasm", because improved microscopes will uncover more fundamental substances. Also "plasma" merely hides the ignorance of modern chemists.
Expects waxy, glaucous-leaved plants to be most frequent in dry temperate climates.
Speculates that the function of "bloom" is to prevent evaporation.
Raised CD’s question about the geographical distribution of glaucous plants at recent botanical meeting.
Congratulations on CD’s long-overdue election to the French Academy of Sciences.
Thanks for Descent.
Reveals that it is his own family that has the movable scalp.
The Franco-Prussian war has held up the publication of the 17th and last volume of the Prodromus.
Thanks for Expression, which has made him wonder whether his shyness in public until the age of 55 resulted from fear of subjecting his face to ridicule.
Criticises F. Galton’s Hereditary genius [1869] for neglecting environmental influence.
Will be interested in reading AdeC’s paper on Smilax. The transition from hermaphroditic to unisexual condition is a perplexing problem.
CD agrees that there is much justice in AdeC’s criticism of his use of the terms "object", "end", and "purpose" but thinks "those who believe that organs have been gradually modified by natural selection for a special purpose, may I think use the above terms correctly though no conscious being has intervened".
CD and Francis are hard at work on the function of "bloom" but CD doubts that the experiments will tell them much.
Does AdeC have a decided opinion on whether plants with glaucous leaves are more frequent in hot or dry than in cold or wet countries?
Francis has been getting "striking" results from feeding meat to Drosera.
AdeC’s two letters on bloom will be very useful; his remarks on evaporation and absorption seem very just. CD has made few experiments as yet. The investigation has been tedious and difficult.
CD cannot say he cares greatly about his election to the Institut but he does care for the sympathy of his friends.
Will look to Smilax when he returns to Down.
Regrets the insecurity of the identification of fossil leaves.
He has heard that De Bary has cultivated Utricularia with and without aquatic animals and that the plants that have been fed flourished "in a stupendous manner".
Thanks for AdeC’s Histoire des sciences [1873].
Sends a copy of Expression.
His health keeps him weak; he dreads grappling with the fearful subject of variation [in nature]
so he is working up some observations in botanical physiology to publish with his old papers on climbing plants.
Thanks AdeC for great pleasure his new book [Histoire des sciences (1873)] has given him. Comments on several of the essays.
When AdeC backs up Asa Gray in saying all instincts are congenital habits, CD must protest.
Asks several questions about butterflies of the Alps discussed on p. 322 [of Histoire].
The evidence of tameness of Alpine butterflies [see 8672] seems good and the fact is surprising to CD for they can hardly have acquired this in their short life-time.
The question whether butterflies are attracted to bright colours independently of the supposed presence of nectar is still unanswered.
CD has great difficulty in believing that any temporary condition of parents can affect the offspring.
Pangenesis is much reviled, but CD must still look at generation from this point of view, which makes him averse to believing that an emotion has any effect on the offspring.