Ɛpsilon

From F. J. Myers   20 January 1881

Mrs. S. M. Rust, Pres’t. Mrs. A. D. Fairbanks, Treas. " S. H. Gifford Vice-Pres’t. " M. J. Myers Sec’y. The Syracuse Botanical Club | Syracuse, N.Y., | Cor Hawley & Green Sts | Syracuse, N.Y. | U.S.A.

Jan 20th. 1881

Dr Darwin

Dear Sir

A short time since I saw in one of the New York City papers, that you were confined to the house by illness,1 and the thought came to me that it might interest you to hear of our Botanical Club. It is composed entirely of ladies, number limited to thirty two. We have been in existence about two years. We began as a class formed for the study of ferns, Mrs Rust our President is a very thorough botanist,2 she has also excellent executive ability. We have never been in debt, and have quite a little sum in Bank. Have purchased a very good herbarium case, and hired rooms. Are about to purchase a Microscope. We have received many presents of books and plants. Gave an Author’s party last November for the purpose of raising money— We made about ninety dollars. There is a class meeting weekly— we are now at work on climbing plants. using Gray’s new Structural and your work on the subject.3 I have studied your Insectivorous plants, and Fertilization of Orchids, & read Voyage of a Naturalist, and Origin of Species.4 The Club members under the direction of Mrs Rust, meet weekly to place in the case, the specimens collected, poisoned & mounted, last summer. The object now is to arrange a complete collection and catalogue of our Onondaga Co. Flora.5 We have about forty species of ferns represented here, our limestone rocks give us many. Our fertile valley, and woody hillsides yield many more. The rarest are Scolopendrium, A. Rutamuraria, B lunaria, & matricuriæfolium & simplex.6 We all hope very soon to hear of your restored health, and all wish to tell you how very much we enjoy your thorough scientific work,

And now my dear Sir, believe me always. | Resp’y yr’s. | Frances J. Myers. | Cor, Secy of The S. B. Club

1
The following note appeared in the personal gossip section of Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper, 8 January 1881, p. 319: ‘Professor Darwin, who is now past seventy, is confined to his bed by bodily infirmities, and may never leave it. It is said to this late day that he has never fully recovered from the terrible attacks of sea-sickness which he experienced in the exploring voyage of the Beagle nearly fifty years ago, and to which he refers from time to time in his most interesting account of that voyage.’ Several British newspapers had also reported erroneously that CD was confined to bed in late December 1880 (see Correspondence vol. 28, letter to Henry Johnson, 28 December [1880] and n. 3).
2
The Syracuse Botanical Club was founded in 1879 (Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club 6 (1879): 330); the president was Mary Olivia Rust.
3
Climbing plants 2d ed. and Structural botany, or, organography on the basis of morphology (A. Gray 1879). Asa Gray was a corresponding member of the club (Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club 6 (1879): 330).
4
Insectivorous plants US ed., Orchids 2d US ed., Journal of researches US ed. (1872), and Origin 3d US ed.
5
Onondaga County is in central New York state.
6
Asplenium scolopendrium (hart’s-tongue fern), A. ruta-muraria (wall-rue), Botrychium lunaria (moonwort), B. matricariaefolium (a synonym of B. matricariifolium, daisy-leaf moonwort), and B. simplex (least moonwort).

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-13020,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-13020