To J. S. Bowerbank   24 February [1849]

Down Farnborough Kent

Feb 24th.

My dear Sir

I am very much obliged for the Scalpellum-fragments. The Plumularia shall be returned to you hereafter; I may want to look at base.—1 The Acasta’s are grand & seem to me quite new; but I know nothing of the genus as yet: there are quite sufficient specimens.2

I thank you sincerely for all your kindness & pray do not forget me, when you are going over your Sponges.

My work progresses slowly & in April I intend going for two months to Malvern to see if I can do my health any good.

Yours very sincerely | C. Darwin

1
A genus of feathery, branching colonies of hydrozoan polyps which have a protective horny covering. CD may have wished to compare the mode of attachment with that of the pedunculated barnacles.
2
Bowerbank provided CD with specimens of Acasta attached to sponges in his collection (see letter to J. S. Bowerbank, [January – August 1848]).

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-1229,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-1229