Ɛpsilon

To G. H. Darwin   14 [July 1878] 1

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

14th.

My dear George

I write to say that the chief point in the drawings in which I thought that you were mistaken proves that I had not seen properly a very important point.2 Very slight alteration wd make the drawings perfect, & they must have been awfully difficult to do, especially the spiral pistil.

I have had a grand morning’s work, & now venture to say that I understand the mechanism completely & it is as wonderful a case as Catasetum.3 Much which I said in former note to you proves to be erroneous.4

I have prepared some other specimens, namely a flower split open & pinned to cork—& another flower for outlines as seen from vertically above, which has caught a bristle firmly; & I hope these will keep in spirits till you come home. With your aid I shall make a good paper.—

Ever yours | C. Darwin

1
The month and year are established by the relationship between this letter and the letter from G. H. Darwin, 12 July 1878.
2
George had sent CD drawings of Thalia dealbata (powdery alligator-flag), but CD had not thought them accurate in all respects (see letter to G. H. Darwin, 13 [July 1878]). For the drawings and CD’s annotations on them, see the enclosure to the letter from G. H. Darwin, 12 July 1878.
3
The means by which Thalia dealbata ensured cross-fertilisation is described more fully by CD in his letter to Francis Darwin, 14 July [1878]; for CD’s remarks on the orchid genus Catasetum (subtribe Catasetinae), see Orchids 2d ed., pp. 178–208.
4
CD had described what he thought were two stigmas at the summit of the pistil in his letter to George of 10 [July 1878], but corrected this impression in his letter of 11 [July 1878], where he noted that pollen tubes were only present in the cavity (the true stigma), while pollen that adhered to the receptacle above it had not exserted any tubes.

Manuscript Alterations and Comments

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Please cite as “DCP-LETT-11606,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-11606