Ɛpsilon

To J. H. Gilbert   11 August 1875

Down, | Beckenham, Kent. | Railway Station | Orpington. S.E.R.

Aug 11

Dear Sir

I thank you for your note of July 4th and I apologise for having kept the valuable tables so long, but I was very busy on another subject till lately.1 I remember the first paper which you & Mr Lawes were so kind as to send me, but I never saw the second one.2 The results seem to me extremely curious, and I am astonished at the immense amount of conscientious work which they must have cost you. I have registered the letter so that there may be no chance of the Tables being lost, and with my thanks I remain dear Sir | Yours faithfully | Ch. Darwin

P.S I hope I may be permitted to add that I have just finished reading with great interest the memoirs of Mrs Gilbert3

LS

1
See letter from J. H. Gilbert, 24 July 1875. CD wrote ‘July 4th’ in error. Gilbert had sent CD tables of results from botanical experiments conducted at Rothamsted Agricultural Station.
2
See letter from J. H. Gilbert, 24 July 1875 and n. 3. Gilbert and John Bennet Lawes had sent CD two papers on experiments at Rothamsted using different manures on meadowland (Lawes and Gilbert 1859, and Lawes and Gilbert 1863). CD cited Lawes and Gilbert 1863 in Cross and self fertilisation, p. 448.
3
The autobiography of Gilbert’s mother, Ann (A. Gilbert 1874), had been posthumously published. CD’s copy has not been found.

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-10115,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-10115