Ɛpsilon

To B. J. Sulivan   15 October 1879

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

Oct 15. 1879

My dear Sulivan,

I have pleasure in enclosing a cheque for £2 for the Buttonian subscription; & I hope the whole plan will succeed. I am glad to hear a fairly good account of your health and as you can manage a walk of 3 or 4 miles, you are a long way ahead of me in strength.1 I have no news of any kind to tell you, for my life is passed in observing plants.2

With all good wishes.

Yours very sincerely | Ch. Darwin

P.S. Many thanks for the offer of the Veronica, which I will not accept as tender plants will not do in our clay soil & at this considerable altitude3

LS

1
See letter from B. J. Sulivan, 13 October 1879. Sulivan had asked CD for his contribution towards the sponsorship of James FitzRoy Button (Cooshaipunjiz), an orphan grandson of Jemmy Button (Orundellico).
2
CD’s research on movement in plants was published in 1880 (Movement in plants).
3
See letter from B. J. Sulivan, 13 October 1879 and n. 5. Down is 578 feet (176 metres) above sea level.

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-12258,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-12258