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From:
Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker
To:
Asa Gray
Date:
--
Source of text:
Asa Gray Correspondence 122, Archives of the Gray Herbarium
Summary:

No summary available.

Contributor:
Hooker Project
From:
Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker
To:
Asa Gray
Date:
--
Source of text:
Asa Gray Correspondence 123, Archives of the Gray Herbarium
Summary:

No summary available.

Contributor:
Hooker Project
From:
Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker
To:
Asa Gray
Date:
26 January 1854
Source of text:
JDH/2/22/1/1 f.2-3, The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Summary:

JDH thanks Asa Gray for his opinion on an unspecified essay by JDH, letter includes discussion of species & specific centres suggesting the subject of the essay is geographical plant distribution, the definition of a species & whether they are created entities or varieties evolve with environmental influences. JDH refers Gray to his comments in the FLORA ANTARCTICA. He argues against Gray & Agassiz's belief in multiple centres. Discusses the relative importance of genetic resemblance as opposed to habitat, referring to the Dorking Fowl, Manx Cats & Falkland Island rabbits. He favours theories based on observable evidence of geography, physiology etc. Dismisses Agassiz's work, incl on glaciers such as Aletsch, as prejudice not based in fact but on a desire for notoriety. JDH & Lyell like Agassiz personally. JDH looks to Americans for future discoveries in science as he considers them more practical. Bentham has decided to give his herbarium to RBG Kew. Thomas Thomson [TT] wants to be botanist on an expedition to North West Australia, if the East India Company will give him leave. Hurt approves of TT, who was imprisoned with his brother during the Afghanistan campaign. William Jackson Hooker has applied to The Duke of Newcastle on TT's behalf. Writes of progress with FLORA INDICA & distribution of plant sets to Gray, Paris, Berlin, Vienna, St Petersburg, Brown at the British Museum, Lowell & Torrey. Asks Gray about North American Larch, Yew, Junipers & Coniferae incl. Scotch Pine. Uses Yews from Pontrilas as an example of the difficulty of using habitat vs character in determining species. The Deodar Avenue at Kew is another example of how plants may not always have the ideal characteristics of their species. Agrees that species cannot be pronounced the same because they are united by certain forms, gives Mt Lebanon & Himalayan Cedars as example of extreme forms. Argues the difficulty is with local botanists wanting to give local varieties a distinct classification.

Contributor:
Hooker Project
From:
Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker
To:
Asa Gray
Date:
24 March 1854
Source of text:
JDH/2/22/1/1 f.4-5, The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Summary:

JDH thanks Gray for his critique of one of JDH's papers. JDH knows he is a difficult person when it comes to criticism. He mentions the issue of defining species & the significance of genetic resemblance & explains that he & Thomas Thomson have touched on the subject in the introduction to the FLORA INDICA. This long introduction will also include an account of the history of Indian botany, an essay on the climate & geographical account of the provinces. JDH is distributing & naming his Indian plants & laments the lack of standard nomenclature. He is currently working on Antidesmas with reference to Tulasne's paper, which is imperfect because of the shortcomings in the French collections he consulted. He mentions the difficulty in pinning down the characteristics of wild & cultivated Yew. JDH has taken a house on Kew Green for George Bentham, near William Jackson Hooker's herbarium in Hanover House. The herbarium now has a curator. Sometimes JDH thinks of abandoning Kew to write for the press in London, he finds it hard to support his growing family on a government salary whilst living in expensive Kew. JDH's father WJH is trying to secure JDH's continued employment for the Office of Woods & Forests but JDH is not optimistic. JDH stays at Kew to please his father & to have access to his herbarium & library. Nathaniel Wallich is very ill, Brown better at present. The Van Diemen's Land [Tasmania] Government have purchased 6 copies of JDH's forthcoming FLORA TASMANIAE & the income is welcome as he made no money from his Antarctic expedition southern floras. JDH describes his recent work on fossil plants, especially Trigonocarpi from coal formations, they resemble Salisburia. JDH outlines his responsibilities regarding scientific societies, he is on the council of the Royal, Linnean & Geographical societies. He has managed to secure a review of the state of the Linnean Society botanical collections. Mentions Caspar Georg Carl Reinwardt is dead at Leyden [Leiden].

Contributor:
Hooker Project
Text Online
From:
Ferdinand von Mueller
To:
Asa Gray
Date:
6 June 1854
Source of text:
Gray Herbarium Archives, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Summary:

No summary available.

Contributor:
Correspondence of Ferdinand von Mueller Project
From:
Charles Robert Darwin
To:
Asa Gray
Date:
25 Apr [1855]
Source of text:
Archives of the Gray Herbarium, Harvard University (1)
Summary:

Is collecting facts on variation; questions AG on the alpine flora of the U. S.

Sends a list of plants from AG’s Manual of botany [1848] and asks him to append the ranges of the species.

Contributor:
Darwin Correspondence Project
From:
Charles Robert Darwin
To:
Asa Gray
Date:
8 June [1855]
Source of text:
Archives of the Gray Herbarium, Harvard University (2)
Summary:

Suggests AG append ranges to the species in the new edition of his Manual.

Is interested in comparing the flora of U. S. with that of Britain and wishes to know the proportions to the whole of the great leading families and the numbers of species within genera. Would welcome information on which species AG considers to be "close" in the U. S.

Contributor:
Darwin Correspondence Project
From:
Charles Robert Darwin
To:
Asa Gray
Date:
21 July [1855]
Source of text:
Archives of the Gray Herbarium, Harvard University (3)
Summary:

Geographical distribution. "Close" species. Hopes AG will write an essay on species.

Contributor:
Darwin Correspondence Project
From:
Charles Robert Darwin
To:
Asa Gray
Date:
24 Aug [1855]
Source of text:
Archives of the Gray Herbarium, Harvard University (10)
Summary:

"Close" species in large and small genera.

Alphonse de Candolle on geographical distribution [Géographie botanique raisonnée (1855)].

Species variability.

Contributor:
Darwin Correspondence Project
From:
Charles Robert Darwin
To:
Asa Gray
Date:
2 May [1856]
Source of text:
Archives of the Gray Herbarium, Harvard University (4)
Summary:

Suggests affinities of the U. S. flora that he considers would be worth investigating. Wants to know the ranges of species in large and small genera.

Questions AG on naturalised plants; whether any are social in U. S. which are not so elsewhere and how variable they are compared with indigenous species. Would like to know of any differences in the variability of species at different points of their ranges and also the physical states of plants at the extremes of their ranges.

Contributor:
Darwin Correspondence Project
From:
Charles Robert Darwin
To:
Asa Gray
Date:
14 July [1856]
Source of text:
Archives of the New York Botanical Garden (Charles Finney Cox Collection)
Summary:

Asks whether Allegheny Mountains are sufficiently continuous so that plants could travel from north to south along them.

Hopes AG’s work on geographical distribution is progressing, as he has questions on plants common to Europe which do not range up to Arctic.

Are intermediate varieties less numerous in individuals than the varieties they connect?

Contributor:
Darwin Correspondence Project
From:
Charles Robert Darwin
To:
Asa Gray
Date:
24 Aug [1856]
Source of text:
Archives of the Gray Herbarium, Harvard University (36)
Summary:

Rarity of intermediate varieties.

Variability of introduced plants.

Ranges of plants common to Europe and U. S.

Contributor:
Darwin Correspondence Project
From:
Charles Robert Darwin
To:
Asa Gray
Date:
12 Oct [1856]
Source of text:
Archives of the Gray Herbarium, Harvard University (6)
Summary:

Thanks AG for the first part of his "Statistics [of the flora of the northern U. S.", Am. J. Sci. 2d ser. 22 (1856): 204–32; 2d ser. 23 (1857): 62–84, 369–403]

and for information on social and varying plants.

Would like to know number of genera of introduced plants in U. S.

Is surprised at some affinities of northern U. S. flora and asks for any climatic explanations.

Asks what proportion of genera common to U. S. and Europe are mundane.

Is glad AG will work out the northern ranges of the European species and the ranges of species with regard to size of genera.

Contributor:
Darwin Correspondence Project
From:
Charles Robert Darwin
To:
Asa Gray
Date:
24 Nov [1856]
Source of text:
Archives of the Gray Herbarium, Harvard University (5)
Summary:

Variability of naturalised plants.

Distribution of Arctic/alpine plant species.

Limits to the northern range of plants.

Contributor:
Darwin Correspondence Project
From:
Charles Robert Darwin
To:
Asa Gray
Date:
1 Jan [1857]
Source of text:
Archives of the Gray Herbarium, Harvard University (7)
Summary:

Thanks AG for 2d part of "Statistics [of the flora of the northern U. S.", Am. J. Sci. 2d ser. 22 (1856): 204–32; 2d ser. 23 (1857): 62–84, 369–403].

Is glad AG concludes species of large genera are wide-ranging, but is "riled" that he thinks the line of connection of alpine plants is through Greenland. Mentions comparisons of ranges worth investigating.

Believes trees show a tendency toward separation of the sexes and wonders if U. S. species bear this out. Asks which genera are protean in U. S.

Contributor:
Darwin Correspondence Project
From:
Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker
To:
Asa Gray
Date:
--[1857]
Source of text:
JDH/2/22/1/1 f.10-11, The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Summary:

JDH thanks Asa Gray for his letter & review of [Rev. Miles Joseph] Berkeley. Berkeley will not like Gray's review or JDH's in JOURNAL OF BOTANY. JDH comments on Gray's criticism of his ideas on physiology, comparing them to a firework, and to his own less ordered style of critique. Declares that he will not take account of a 'vital force' until anyone else does. Compares American & British terminology i.e. in the United States physiology is synonymous with biology. Discusses nomenclature & the use of the English 'anth' in names such as Ranunculanths, compared to using the suffixes: 'ads' or 'worts' in place of aceae. This was started by [John Stevens] Henslow & despite misgivings JDH has advised [George] Bentham to retain them as they are now effectively sanctioned by the government; being used in the National Schools. He asks Gray not to deter Bentham from using the system as it is the current vogue & it is hard enough to get government to publish such books for the amateur, & this class of people cares a great deal about terminology. JDH thinks [John] Lindley is correct to refer Podostemons to near Lentibulariaceae though he previously thought their place was with Scrophulariaceae.

Contributor:
Hooker Project
Text Online
From:
Ferdinand von Mueller
To:
Asa Gray
Date:
24 January 1857
Source of text:
Gray Herbarium Archives, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Summary:

No summary available.

Contributor:
Correspondence of Ferdinand von Mueller Project
From:
Hewett Cottrell Watson
To:
Asa Gray
Date:
13 Mar 1857
Source of text:
DAR 181: 36
Summary:

Describes problems of classifying species in highly variable genera. Lists highly variable genera. Comments on the list of Asa Gray. Says species may be made to appear more or less variable according to whether a genus is divided into few or many species.

Contributor:
Darwin Correspondence Project
From:
Charles Robert Darwin
To:
Asa Gray
Date:
[after 15 Mar 1857]
Source of text:
Archives of the Gray Herbarium, Harvard University (8)
Summary:

Urges AG to generalise from his observations on the flora of the northern U. S.

Expected to find separation of sexes in trees because he believes all living beings require an occasional cross, and none is perpetually self-fertilising. The multitude of flowers of a tree would be an obstacle to cross-fertilisation unless the sexes tended to be separate.

The Leguminosae are CD’s greatest opposers; he cannot find that garden varieties ever cross. Could AG inquire of intelligent nurserymen on the subject?

Thanks AG for information on protean genera; much wants to know whether their great variability is due to their conditions of existence or is innate in them at all times and places.

Contributor:
Darwin Correspondence Project
From:
Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker
To:
Asa Gray
Date:
29 March 1857
Source of text:
JDH/2/22/1/1 f.6-9, The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Summary:

JDH thanks Asa Gray for his note of 10 Mar [1857]. Is impatient for LESSONS, apologises for not reviewing the MANUAL in the JOURNAL OF BOTANY. William Jackson Hooker wants JDH to review [Miles Joseph] Berkeley's INTRODUCTION TO CRYPTOGAMIC BOTANY, JDH praises its content but calls it 'appallingly written & arranged', a common failing of parson-authors such as Sedgwick & Buckland, Copewell[?] & Baden-Powell. An abstract of the Linnean Society's ideas on genera will appear in the LITERARY GAZETTE & a summary by Bentham in the Linnean journal. JDH is critical of the way Germans approach a subject, A. Braun's work on genera is an exemplar. JDH dismisses [Berthold Carl] Seemann's 'twaddle' about genera being objective or subjective, gives Rosa & Salix as examples of the former & Unbellifers as the 'confoundedly bad' latter. Discusses [Thomas] Thomson's paper on germination & embryos of Careya & Barringtonia. JDH worries about Gray doing a book on forest trees. Notes [Richard] Spruce is stranded in Tarapoto, in the Andes, en route to Lima. Mentions UK government expedition to the source of the Missouri & the East Rocky Mountains, [Eugène] Bourgeau is the botanist & the commander Mr Palliser. JDH's children & wife [Frances Hooker] are in Brighton. JDH suggests a visit to the UK would stimulate Gray's work on the Flora of North America. [Walter Hood] Fitch has produced plates of British natural orders, designed by [John Stevens] Henslow, for the National Schools under the Board of Trade. In a post script dated 30 Mar JDH gives a detailed opinion of Gray's ELEMENTS. JDH cannot visit Canada & USA until 1858, he has too much work, with the Indian Herbarium & Tasmanian flora for the Van Diemen's Land government, & not enough money. Comments briefly on Gray's notices in SILLIMAN & at length on De Candolle's botanical geography, referring to the work of de Heer, Henfrey, Brown, Forbe's Atlantis theory & Duchastre's encyclopaedia. Recommends that Gray get the GARDENERS' CHRONICLE.

Contributor:
Hooker Project