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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.
If AAG is no longer member of the Ray Society, CD would like to send copy of Living Cirripedia, vol. 2.
Geographical distribution. "Close" species. Hopes AG will write an essay on species.
Thanks JSH for all he has done. His botanical little girls are marvellous. His marking of the list of dubious species is what CD wanted. Explains that he wanted to ascertain whether closely allied forms belong to large or small genera.
Describes his method of putting young poultry to death.
Asks questions arising from WDF’s reply about crossed mongrels.
Mentions RH’s book on light [Researches on light in its chemical relations, 2d ed. (1854)]. Asks about coloured glass used in experiments on plants.
Invites JSH to dine at CD’s brother’s house in London.
Informs CD which colours of glass accelerate germination, lignification, and floriation; advises CD on obtaining such glass and offers his help in any experiments.
Delighted JSH can dine. Has invited Hooker.
Thanks him for Lychnis seed.
Asks for umbel of wild celery. Wants to ascertain whether wild or tame plants produce most seed.
Praise for JDH’s Flora Indica [J. D. Hooker and T. Thomson (1855)] from CD and C. J. F. Bunbury.
CD and J. S. Henslow dining in London. JDH invited.
Has received the duck and bantam.
Anxious to get as many facts as possible on crossbreeding of dogs.
Reports on seeds that have germinated after 100 days immersion [in salt water].
Mentions experiments on plants involving coloured glass. Encloses correspondence from glass maker and asks advice.
Sends a skeleton of a Bengal jungle cock.
Has never heard of trained otters breeding in captivity.
Introduced domestic rabbits are confined to the ports of India.
Canaries and other tame finches and thrushes brought into India do not breed well.
Origin of the domestic canary. Tendency of domesticated birds to produce "top-knot" varieties.
The tame geese of lower Bengal are hybrids; those of upper Bengal are said to be pure Anser cygnoides.
Wild Anser cinereus occur in flocks in the cold season.
Discusses at length different breeds of domestic cats and possible wild progenitors. Wild and domestic cats occasionally interbreed. The Angora variety breeds freely with the common Bengal cat and all stages of intermediates can be found.
Believes pigeons have been bred in India since remote antiquity.
Discusses whether mankind is divided into races or distinct species.
[CD’s notes are an abstract of this letter.]
Morning with H. C. Watson; discussed problems of inferences from buried seeds.
Has left a book from Henslow for JDH at Athenaeum.
When Asa Gray wrote, did he send marked sheets [of his Manual of botany]?
Has just made out "new & wonderful" specific character between two of his pigeon breeds.
Gives names of German dealers who provide seed of superior quality.
Is having difficulties marking close species on the list of British plants.
In all his attempts to advance geographical botany he is stopped by the "application and signification of the word ""species"" " the use of which is both "indefinite and variable". He encloses his list of "Categories of Species".
When JDH goes to Germany, will he ask seed men if their marvellous true breeding lines are the result of selection.
Sends a catalogue of plants [missing] with the close species marked.
Recommends publication of W. B. Carpenter’s paper on Orbitolites [Philos. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. 146 (1856): 181–236]. Discusses style and the cost of the plates.
Gives extracts from a letter by Thomas Hutton.
Rabbits are kept (generally by Europeans) in the NW. provinces and breed freely. Canaries are not well adapted to the climate. Reports on domestic cats and pigeons of the area. EB gives references to further information on cats, pigeons, and silkworms.
[CD’s notes are an abstract of this letter.]
