Showing 61–80 of 177 items
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.
Asks JDH to inquire of gardeners at Kew what they think about injury to plants from watering during sunshine. Wishes to experiment. He is already convinced that drops of water do not act as burning lenses.
Thanks JDH and Thiselton-Dyer for useful information.
Is surprised Mimosa albida is not sensitive to water. Asks that they try again, or lend it to him.
Remembers a walk in Brazil in great bed of Mimosa.
After JDH left, CD was very bad, with much loss of memory and severe shocks continually passing through his brain.
Obliged for information on Mimosa albida; if a vigorous plant behaves as JDH says, CD’s notions are all knocked on the head.
Anxious to read Tyndall’s answer to Tait [Nature 8 (1873): 399].
Drosera story too long for his strength. Essentially the leaves act just like stomach of an animal.
Burdon Sanderson will give some grand facts at BAAS about Dionaea.
Offers to help JDH with Nepenthes experiments. Finds experimental work always takes twice as much time as anticipated.
Had read Tyndall’s letter [Nature 8 (1873): 399] – awfully savage, but certainly a great mistake to print it.
Thinks JDH will think better of Clerk Maxwell’s paper after he reads it.
Asks whether JDH could find out for him the temperature of rain in very hot countries.
Hopes to get another species of Desmodium from Mr Rollisson.
Lists plants in which he is interested, including Neptunia and Mimosa species.
Do any strictly tropical plants have glaucous leaves?
Asks for observations on irritable plants.
Neptunia is evidently a hopeless case.
Good news that fluid of Nepenthes is acid.
No discovery ever gave him more pleasure than proving a true act of digestion in Drosera.
Has become profoundly interested in Desmodium. Asks whether Frank [Darwin] can look over the whole dried collection of the genus.
Has JDH any seed of Lathyrus nissolia?
Suggests experiments to try [with Nepenthes].
Asks JDH to test whether cabbage seeds and peas exposed to the ferment germinate.
Cancel: same as 9523.
Extremely glad to hear of the aggregation in Nepenthes glands. Advises on experimenting with cubes of albumen – gives sizes, also suggests cubes of roast meat. Thanks for analyses of secretion of Nepenthes.
Asks for cutting of Acacia farnesiana.
Longs to examine a species of Desmodium with three leaflets. Has asked Frank [Darwin] to look for species of Desmodium with tendrils.
Thanks for leaves. His notes on them will be of greatest service.
He cannot distinguish some Eucalypti from Acacia. Sends specimens, with numbers, for JDH to name.
Acacia farnesiana branches arrived withered, but saw enough to make him wish to examine the plant.
Has thought of some troublesome experiments for Drosophyllum.
Encloses remarks [missing] by Searles Wood, with which CD disagrees, about a new and strongly marked variety transmitting its characters.
The competition of better adapted forms seems to CD a sufficient explanation [for extinction].
On Nepenthes.
Asks JDH, if he publishes, to mention CD’s work on digestive powers of Drosera so that charges of plagiarism will not be made against CD later when he publishes.
Describes at length his observations on the movements of Desmodium.
Discusses experiments and observations on pitchers [of Nepenthes]. Suggests procedures for JDH to follow.
Any plant of any family with a terminal or with any lateral leaflets greatly reduced would be interesting to CD for studying spontaneous movements.
Has not received Eucalyptus or Acacia plants from Rollisson.
Suggests experiment and observations to carry out on pitcher [of Nepenthes].
Is coming to stay in London and wants to arrange a visit to Kew to talk with JDH, see the Eucalypti, and observe Mimosa albida.
Returned from visit.
Thinks several species of Eucalyptus would be worth experimenting on. Sends list.Mimosa albida would be worth its weight in diamonds. Neptunia worth more than diamonds.
Has been working hard on Mimosa albida. Could JDH ever make its opposite leaflets shut up close, as in sleep, when he irritated them? CD doubts they do, except in sleep. Thinks movement a protection against water.
Has examined only one specimen of Eucalyptus.
Cannot believe JDH’s results from cutting a hole in pitcher in his Nepenthes experiment.
His indignation at the malignant, odious, hypocrite Owen’s attack on JDH. History of Secretaryship [of Royal Society in Nature 9 (1873): 129–30] was best answer to Owen.
Is hard at work on new edition of Descent – a truly awful job.
No use going on with experiments on effects of water on bloom-divested leaves. May have erred. Or it may be that water is only injurious when there is a good supply of actinic rays. Will wait until spring.
Thanks JDH for Asa Gray’s interesting letter.
Would like JDH’s copy of Coral reefs. Needs it for corrections for a new edition. Cannot buy one.
Reports on a séance. "The Lord have mercy on us all if we have to believe in such rubbish."
Asks JDH to vote for his nephew, Henry Parker, for Athenaeum membership.
CD guessed Carruthers was stirred up by Owen. Disgraceful treatment of Bentham.
Work on Descent and Coral reefs stops his doing anything of real interest.
Asa Gray’s letter. CD has acknowledged the honour [honorary membership in the Boston Soc. Nat. Hist.].
"What a demon on earth Owen is. I do hate him."
