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To Antonio Mendola   8 January [1880]1

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

Jany. 8th. 1879

Dear Sir

I am obliged to you for your kindness in writing to me & for the specimens which you are so good as to offer to [send]. Your statements are so remarkable that I can assure you that no naturalist, without repeated & most ⁠⟨⁠care⁠⟩⁠ful observations with all the many chances of error avoided, would think them worthy of any consideration.—2 I am myself so much engaged on other work, that I cannot undertake the investigation, & therefore will not trouble you to send the horn.

I beg leave to remain | Dear Sir | Yours faithfully & obliged | Charles Darwin

1
The year is established by the relationship between this letter and the letter from Antonio Mendola, 29 December 1879. CD wrote ‘1879’ in error.
2
Mendola claimed that roots had grown from a calf’s horn buried in earth, and that hairs from the tails of donkeys, mules, and horses had come alive when placed in water (see Correspondence vol. 27, letter from Antonio Mendola, 29 December 1879).

Manuscript Alterations and Comments

0.1 (Railway … S.E.R.)] parentheses added

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-12409F,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-12409F