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To James Torbitt   29 October 1880

Down, [4 Bryanston Street, London.]

Oct. 29, 1880.

My dear Sir

I am writing in London, as not having been very well of late, I have come here for 2 or 3 days rest.1

Your secret shall be inviolable, and to make sure in case of my illness or death I have now burnt your letter.2 I kindly? sincerely?3 wish you success in your projects, but it is not the least use consulting me, as I never have and never shall attend to any commercial affair.

I suppose the success of your projects would depend on the contingent expenses of the process, though it is obviously a gain for the public to save waste food. I wish you success but pray do not be rash, and remember that though enthusiasm is a virtue it is a dangerous one.

Believe me my dear Sir | Yours sincerely | Ch. Darwin.

Copy

1
CD stayed with Henrietta Emma Litchfield from 28 October to 2 November 1880 (CD’s ‘Journal’ (Appendix II)).
2
It is unclear whether Torbitt’s ‘secret’ related to his attempts to breed blight-resistant potatoes or to some other process he had developed for saving waste food (A. Evans et al. 1996, p. 8). For Torbitt’s potato breeding experiments, see the letter from James Torbitt, 26 September 1880.
3
These suggestions were probably made by the copyist, who was evidently unable to read the original.

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-12780,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-12780