Ɛpsilon

To W. C. Williamson   18 August [1880]1

Cambridge

Aug. 18th

From Mr. C. Darwin,

Your specimens, which have been forwarded to me here; are interesting; but I think the slowness of the change might have been expected under the circumstances, as in the case of tadpoles.—2

C. D.

ApcS

1
The year is established by the relationship between this letter and the letter from W. C. Williamson, 10 August 1880.
2
Williamson had sent seedlings of Drosera capensis (Cape sundew), whose habit of growth when several plants were grown in close proximity resembled that of D. rotundifolia, the common or round-leaved sundew, and D. intermedia, the spoonleaf sundew. See letter from W. C. Williamson, 10 August 1880 and nn. 2 and 3. CD alludes to the fact that tadpoles will not develop into frogs in overcrowded conditions.

Manuscript Alterations and Comments

0.1 Cambridge] below del ‘Down, Beckenham.’
0.3 Mr.] altered from ‘Mrs.’
1.1 been] after del ‘bef’

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-12693,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-12693