Encloses a report on JT’s potato varieties by William Meredith, one of the many individuals in the country who are growing them.

Intends to get his ideas on the "wearing out" of varieties printed.

This year’s crosses were failures.

German edition of Erasmus Darwin will not appear until next year.

No summary available.

Thanks CD for noticing some difficulties in his hypothesis. Concedes that there is no proof that higher plants are more intolerant of carbon dioxide than lower plants. Argues that the main difference between the lowlands and the high mountains in Palaeozoic times would be the much greater climatic fluctuations that would occur on the mountains. Discusses carbon dioxide diffusion in the Palaeozoic atmosphere. Thinks that the large number of species and genera peculiar to high mountains favours the assumption that "their diffusion must date from a geologically remote period" [see ML 2: 20–2].

Congratulations on Erasmus Darwin; likes CD’s part better than Ernst Krause’s.

Received false notice of Asa Gray’s death.

Gray and JDH engaged in comparing widely separated but floristically similar regions.

Erasmus thinks CD should give a copy of Erasmus Darwin to Henry Parker.