CD wishes his son Leonard to try for University this winter and intends sending Horace to a private tutor.

Sends Fritz Müller’s address;

disagrees on Mary Barton.

Seeks name of the Mimulus on which he has experimented [see Variation 2: 128].

Requests flowers of yellow variety of Mirabilis jalapa.

Thanks JVC for his biography [of CD].

Has almost finished first proofs of Variation.

Has difficulty in answering JVC’s queries about dogs because of differences in German names and breeds. Refers him to A. E. Brehm’s Illustrirtes Thierleben [1868] and, on pigeons, to Gottlob Neumeister’s book [Das Ganze der Taubenzucht (1837)].

Hopes JVC is not discouraged by first volume. Thinks second will be more interesting.

Thanks for "pleasant remittance" of £250 for 4th edition of Origin.

Glad to see that Orchids sells a little.

Hopes Variation will be more successful.

Instructions for the index to Variation