Describes Sedgwick’s attack on CD’s views [at Cambridge Philosophical Society] and his own defence, though he believes CD has pressed his hypothesis too far.

Dissection of Leschenaultia convinces CD insect agency necessary for self-fertilisation in this case.

Primroses and cowslips seem universally to occur in two forms. Very curious to see which plants set seed.

J. S. Henslow’s defence of CD;

[Thomas?] Thomson’s opposition to Origin.

Instructs JDH on how to pollinate Leschenaultia.

Evidence of Leschenaultia and the dioecious condition of cowslips and Auricula is making necessity of insect pollination "clear and clearer".

Lyell, de facto, first to stress importance of geological changes for geographical distribution.

Asa Gray has given CD too much credit for theories of geographical distribution.

Reaction to hostile criticism

and debt to Lyell, Huxley, JDH, and W. B. Carpenter.

Gives references to experiments on cowslip for W. H. Harvey.

Suggests possible sources of error in results. Feels evidence is overwhelming that cowslip and primrose are varieties.

Has received laudatory verses on the Origin from some botanist; suspects Francis Boott.

Floral anatomy.

Wallace’s capital response on reading Origin.

E. W. Binney has published on coal-plants living in marine waters ["On the origin of coal", Mem. Lit. & Philos. Soc. Manchester 2d ser. 8 (1848): 148–94], an old CD idea.

Waste of pollen in horse chestnut will make a good case against perfection.

Convinced selection is the efficient cause. Less convinced of physical causes than JDH because he sees adaptation everywhere and that must be due to selection.

Harvey’s letter to JDH more accepting of natural selection than CD expected.

Battle over Origin is raging in the United States.

Weary of hostile reviews.

Doubts about going to Oxford [for BAAS meeting].

CD’s response to criticism of natural selection. Exasperated at not being understood. He tries to narrow the gap between himself and JDH.

Floral anatomy of Goodeniaceae: although flowers seem to fertilise themselves by pistil moving to anther, CD shows that insect agency is necessary. Wants JDH to check his interpretation of stigmatic surface.

Progress of [Thomas?] Thomson and G. H. K. Thwaites on accepting mutability.

Bee orchid pollination.

JDH has written to CD on homologies of stigma in Goodeniaceae.

Has reread JDH’s paper ["On the functions of the rostellum of Listera ovata", Philos. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. 144 (1854): 259–64].

CD writes of his admiration for pollination contrivances in Gymnadenia. Ask George Bentham whether this plant should be removed from genus Orchis.

Going for hydropathy. Too ill for Oxford BAAS meeting.

Pollination by minute insects.

CD proves his view regarding Goodenia stigmatic surfaces by dissection and following pollen-tubes up to grains.

CD, ill and despondent about hostile reviews, is cheered by JDH’s account of Oxford battle, particularly by willingness of JDH and Huxley to fight for CD’s theory in public.

Reread JDH’s letter "with infinite pleasure".

Plans to visit Kew.

CD will visit Kew on way home from E. W. Lane’s hydropathy establishment.

Floral anatomy; pistil curvature and pistil movement. CD’s rule that bent pistils occur in "gangway" into nectaries.

The book JDH is planning, which he and CD discussed at Kew, should deal with plant reproduction.

Asa Gray’s articles in Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences [10 Apr 1860] excellent; considering asking Athenæum to reprint them.