From James Torbitt   5 March 1880

J. Torbitt, | Wine Merchant. | 58, North Street, | Belfast,

5 Mar 1880.

Respectfully in continuance of my note by last mail—1

Some two thirds of the potatoes are growing and should be planted as soon as possible, but they can be grown from a second set of buds.

The remaining one third are not yet germinating, and I may be able to keep them back for a month, as I can now expose them to the air and light without much risk of frost.2

Speculating on the possibility of some help, I have sown seed twice, and tomorrow propose to sow a third lot.

I will also select a tuber from a hundred of the best varieties of ’79, ’78 and ’77 for crossing so as to be prepared for continuance of the work.

Most respectfully | J. Torbitt

2
In his letter of 4 March 1880, CD had said that he supposed that Torbitt would not need to plant his varieties of potato for a month.

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-12517,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-12517