To James Torbitt   28 June 1878

Down,

June 28, 1878.

My dear Sir

⁠⟨⁠3 lines excised⁠⟩⁠ considering to how many risks seedlings are exposed, I cannot but think that the saving of the half the crossed ones, is upon the whole fairly good fortune. The crossed seedling which you sent seemed an extraordinarily fine plant.1

With respect to your question about opening the potato and fertilising the stigma in the bud, it does not seem to me adviseable, and it would cost you much additional labour.2 It is quite likely that the stigma would not then be mature. The maturity with most plants can be judged of by its surface being coated by a very thin layer of viscid fluid. Your plan of obtaining and using the pollen seems to me a very good one. It would be, I believe, quite sufficient if you were to apply the pollen on 2 successive days;—or on one day and then on the third day.

The statements about the dropping off and sterility of the flowers on the old varieties seem to me very interesting.3

Many thanks for your enquiries about my health; until the last week I have been considerably better than usual.

My dear Sir | Yours very faithfully | Chas. Darwin.

Copy, incomplete4

1
In his letter of 26 June 1878, Torbitt said that he had sent specimens from his experimental programme for raising disease-resistant potatoes from seed.
2
Torbitt had asked CD’s advice on cross-fertilising large numbers of potato varieties in his letter of 26 June 1878.
3
Torbitt had made these statements about the Skerry Blue and Cruffle potato varieties; see letter from James Torbitt, 26 June 1878.
4
A section has been excised from the copy after the salutation.

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-11574,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-11574