Testimonial in support of WBT’s application for curatorship of the Hartley Institution.

Sad that CD is quitting his studies of orchids.

L. C. Treviranus inclined to translate Orchids, but "unfortunately" HGB has already done it. Book’s discussion of plant sexuality important for zoology as well as botany.

Origin is in press. Attaches a list of "quelques petites difficultées" encountered in his translation.

Yesterday found hundreds of [Ophrys] apifera and [Ophrys] arachnites in bloom in the same area. The two species grow in clumps and do not mix with each other.

Has been ill (violent skin inflammation).

Has done hardly anything except tend to his experiments. Repeating Primula work has verified former results and very curious facts on sterility of homomorphic seedlings.

Wonders who reviewed Orchids for London Review & Wkly J. Polit..

Asa Gray also infatuated with Orchids.

Identified two flies as species of Empis that suck flowers, but the females also feed on small Diptera.

Thanks for Orchids.

Plans to publish soon on hybrids.

Forwards carbonate of ammonia and gelatine free of chlorine.

Roughly identifies some insects sent by CD; is waiting to see Francis Walker, who, he believes, has written a monograph on the family to which they belong.

M. J. Berkeley wrote London Review & Wkly J. Polit. article.

CD is "out of sight the best physiological observer and experimenter that Botany ever saw".

Laments how much he [JDH] missed when doing the Listera ["Functions and structure of the rostellum of Listera ovata", Philos. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. 144 (1854): 259–64].

Illness of wife and father.

"More plants from Fernando Po and more European".

Has seen Francis Walker, who has identified CD’s two Hymenoptera species ["caught in Musk Orchis" – CD note].

Circulars are being sent to Army surgeons.

Thanks JBG for acceding to his wishes in the endeavour to discover whether hair colour in Europeans is correlated with susceptibility to tropical diseases [see Descent 1: 244–5].

Encloses answers and corrections [concerning Orchids]. Thanks HGB for translating it.

Remembers JDH’s encouragement when he was "utterly weary of life".

Marvellous about European forms in Fernando Po.

C. V. Naudin will publish a book on hybridity ["Nouvelles recherches sur l’hybridité dans les végétaux", Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris 1 (1865): 25–176; part also in Ann. Sci. Nat. (Bot.) (1863)].

CD fears Naudin has underestimated distribution of pollen by insects.

Melastomatous plants are ready for his work on meaning of two sets of anthers.

Very curious about Masdevallia.

George [Darwin] observing orchids.

Adaptation of Herminium beats almost every other orchid.

Discusses cases of assumed correlation, e.g., facial hair and generative organs, sexual characters in castrated oxen. Finds it difficult to see how correlation of functions which would be useless separately can be accumulated gradually through natural selection.