Thanks RC for his kind note. It was only Climbing plants for which he wanted the proofs to have wide margins. Wishes he understood more about printing. It would be a great convenience to authors if exterior margins of proofs were broad.

Thanks JF for his book.

At present has no observations he wishes made in India.

Cannot believe in possibility that the duck is a hybrid, but correlation accords with some other facts.

Requests specimens of berries and more information about the Madresfield Court vine.

Regrets he will not return home in time to see WDW.

Asks FD to make out [Hermann] Hoffmann’s conclusions about the fertilisation of Phaseolus multiflorus [in Untersuchungen zur Bestimmung des Werthes von Species und Varietät (1869)].

Further discussion of the process of aggregation in response to [10137].

Thanks for GR’s "Address" [see 10141].

Wishes he had not quoted Bagehot’s remark [in Descent 1: 239] about decrease in savage populations. Interest in subject.

Hopes to meet Dresser and his guest, N. A. Severtsov, on returning to Down.

CD gives a few instances of various animals (starfish, earwigs, spiders) that take charge of their young.

Sends comments and suggestions for Huth’s experiment on crossbreeding rabbits.

Requesting two books, Lafitau 1724 and Tanner 1830.

Thanks SN for his explanation of vines.

Discusses SN’s observation on roots secreting carbonic acid.

Working on plant physiology; has not strength to discuss difficult subject with anyone.

Agrees to write to William Ogle [about twins with crooked fingers].

Describes growth of sweetpeas for experiment.

Asks whether the twins WO reported to CD [see 5470] were named Macrae. F. Galton has told him of a similar case with twins so named who inherited crooked little fingers from the maternal side [see Variation, 2d ed., 2: 240]. [The twins referred to by WO were actually his sisters, see 10170.]

Encloses a photograph and [?].

Thinks JGFR should send report of coloured spots on infants’ buttocks to some ethnological society.

Will propose GJR for membership in Linnean Society.

Discusses GJR’s grafting experiments.

Thanks FG for issues of Revue [Scientifique vol. 7, containing lectures by Claude Bernard].

Ogle says twins [with crooked fingers] are his sisters.

Recommends book by M. A. Puvis [De la dégénération des variétés de végétaux (1837)].

From Galton’s "twin study" he suspects that some progenitor of WO’s had the peculiarities in question.

Has collected cases of signs of assent for a revised edition of Expression.

Suggests bees visit same species because they know how far to insert proboscis and thus save time.