Thanks MW for his essay [Die Darwin’sche Theorie und das Migrationsgesetz der Organismen (1868)]. Is highly gratified that MW agrees with him to a considerable extent.
Almost wishes that he could believe in the importance of isolation to the same extent as MW.
Gives Charles Bell’s explanation of the contraction of the orbicularis during screaming and seeks confirmation of his view because the action is "the key-stone of a whole class of expressions". Curious to learn WB’s conclusion in regard to the relation between contraction of the orbicularis and secretion of tears. Notes that voluntary contraction of the orbicularis causes no tears.
Thanks JB for his information. Has heard of analogous cases to JB’s observations on [colours of] crossed rats; the offspring of white and grey mice are stated to be either white or grey and never piebald.
Asks for [John?] Smith’s exact count of seeds of the crossed and self-fertilised Victoria water-lily. Similar question on Euryale seed and seedlings.
JDH’s coming [BAAS] Presidential Address.
Movement in plants.
Dimorphism.
Would welcome FM’s opinion of Pangenesis.
Glad to hear about colours of Hylobates.
Cannot find any statement about which digits in man are most subject to syndactylism in Isidore Geoffroy [Saint-Hilaire]’s Histoire des anomalies [1832–7].
Asks questions concerned with seasonal and sexual changes in plumage of various bird species.
Does male woodpecker share in incubation?
CD thanks JJW for the mine of information his last "ten!" letters contain. Comments on sexual display of pheasants and colour preferences of pigeons.
Asks about hens that pair earliest in spring and about possible existence of unpaired birds.
No summary available.
More on the "terrible problem" of natural selection and sterility. CD’s reasons for disagreeing with ARW. CD analyses and answers ARW in detail in defence of his conclusion that sterility cannot be increased through natural selection.
Thanks Charles Langstaff for his observations relating to expression. Has requested observations on the platysma. Discusses the actions of other facial muscles, especially during crying. [Encloses 5828.]
No summary available.
Warns ARW of dubious character of list of European alpine genera and species in volcanoes of Hawaii. Problems of geographical distribution in oceanic islands.
Promises to send coral specimens.
Asks JM to send Variation to G. Boccardo in Italy.
Sends title (suggested by Lyell) for translation of Fritz Müller’s Für Darwin (which Dallas is translating). CD does not wish to go to great expense in advertising it.
BDW’s letter [6051?] and his notes are a "mine of wealth". The negative evidence is of much value. Sexual selection is a perplexing subject – finds he "must make the best of a rather bad job".
Sends copy [of Variation].
About the advertising and title of a book [the translation of Fritz Müller’s Für Darwin, see 6114].
Has tried using dealers’ price-lists as a guide to sex ratios in Lepidoptera; finds numerous cases in which the sexes bring different prices and in virtually all of them the males are cheaper. This seems to confirm the impression of the field collectors.
Wishes RT good luck with natural history in S. Africa.
CD has questions related to colour differences in the sexes of butterflies, especially in relation to HWB’s paper ["On variation in sexes of Argynnis diana", Proc. Entomol. Soc. Philadelphia 4 (1865): 204–7].
Mentions that his MS on Lepidoptera [for Descent] is longer than he intended and the information is four-fifths owed to HWB.
No summary available.
Submits lists of insects [missing] for correspondent to check whether brightly coloured. Wants to determine whether there is any relation between bright colouring, whether in both sexes or one alone, and an unequal number of males and females.
