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From Ernst Krause1   15 May 1881

Berlin N. O. Friedenstrasse 11.

den 15 Mai 81.

Hochverehrter Herr!

Heut früh liess ich unter Kreuzband einige Nummern der deutschen Wochenschrift “Gartenlaube” an Sie abgehen, in denen ich über die überaus wichtigen Ergebnisse Ihrer Beobachtungen über das Bewegungsvermögen der Pflanzen einen kurzen Bericht gegeben habe.2 Ihr deutscher Herr Verleger war so freundlich mir zu Illustrirung einige Cliché’s zu leihen.3 Wenn Sie einen Blick hinein werden sollten, so bitte ich Sie, das kurze Hinweggehen über die Methode und manche Hauptpunkte damit entschuldigen zu wollen, dass der Bericht für vollständige Laien geschrieben ist, und demgemäss so leichtfasslich und wenig eingehend wie möglich sein musste.

Die Gartenlaube ist unsre gelesenste Wochenschrift und in mehr als 300,000 Exemplaren über die ganze Welt, so weit Deutsche wohnen, verbreitet.4 Da der Gegenstand mich ausserordentlich anzieht, so beabsichtige ich noch eine eingehendere Darstellung in einer unserer Monatschriften zu geben.

Der “Kosmos” wird, wie sich annehmen lässt, in den Händen des Herrn Koch, der einen bedeutenden naturwissenschaftlichen Verlag hat, vermuthlich besser prosperiren, als in dem früheren, wo er neben allerlei medicinischen und pharmazeutischen Werken eine ungünstige Stelle einnahm. Das Maiheft desselben, welches Sie inzwischen vermuthlich erhalten haben werden, habe ich mit dem mir gütigst für diesen Zweck überlassenen Vortrage Ihres Herrn Sohnes Francis über “Kletterpflanzen” bereichert, und danke demselben herzlichst für seine freundliche Erlaubniss und Unterstützung bei der Correctur.5

Mit grosser Befriedigung habe ich gelesen, dass Herr Professor Romanes noch einmal in der “Nature” Gelegenheit genommen hat, Herrn Butler das Verächtliche seines Benehmens gegen Sie zu Gemüthe zu führen.6 Hoffentlich werden demselben die anständigen Journale in Zukunft ihre Spalten, falls er die Absicht haben sollte, sie nochmals für so erbärmliche Zwecke zu missbrauchen, verschliessen. In Deutschland hat Niemand von der Sache weiter die geringste Notiz genommen, selbst ultramontane Blätter, die sonst dergleichen Gelegenheiten wahrzunehmen wissen, haben so viel Selbstachtung besessen diese kläglichen Angriffe zu ignoriren.7

Zum Schlusse noch eine grosse Bitte! Sollte in Ihrem neuen Werke über die Regenwürmer, von welchem die Journale berichten, ein Kapital enthalten sein, welches sich (etwa gleichzeitig oder bald nach dem Erscheinen in Buchform) zur besondern Mittheilung im “Kosmos” eignen würde, so möchte ich Sie herzlichst bitten, mir einen Abdruck des betreffenden Bogens zu senden.8 Natürlich würde die Uebersetzung mit dem Vermerk, dass es sich um eine Probe aus Ihrem neuen Werke handle zu versehen sein. Natürlich darf Ihnen die Idee einer solchen Publikation nicht irgendwie unbequem sein, denn sonst würde ich selbstverständlich darauf verzichten.

Mit dem Wunsche dass diese Zeilen Sie in erwünschten Wohlsein antreffen mögen, zeichne ich hochverehrter Herr | Ihr | treulich ergebner | Ernst Krause

1
For a translation of this letter, see Appendix I.
2
Krause’s summary of Movement in plants, written under his pseudonym, Carus Sterne, appeared in two instalments of Die Gartenlaube in April 1881 (Sterne 1881a). At the top of CD’s copy in DAR 226.1: 229–32, CD wrote in pencil, ‘Ernst Krause good abstract of Movt of Plants’.
3
The plates from Movement in plants that Krause used in Sterne 1881a were the following: fig. 66, p. 159, Pisum sativum (Sterne 1881a, p. 230); fig. 57, p. 78, Cyclamen persicum (Sterne 1881a, p. 285); fig. 62, p. 102, Cucurbita ovifera (Sterne 1881a, p. 286); fig. 145, p. 354, Lotus creticus (Sterne 1881a, p. 286); part of fig. 154, p. 370, Cassia corymbosa (Sterne 1881a, p. 287); fig. 160, p. 382, Acacia farnesiana (Sterne 1881a, p. 287).
4
For more on the popularity of Die Gartenlaube and its dissemination in German immigrant communities, see Belgum 1998.
5
Eduard Koch was the head of E. Schweizerbart’sche Verlagsbuchhandlung; the firm took over publication of Kosmos from Karl Alberts (Ernst Gunther’s Verlag) with the ninth volume (April–September 1881). Francis Darwin’s lecture on climbing plants had appeared in Popular Science Review in 1880 (F. Darwin 1880c); the German translation was published in the May 1881 issue of Kosmos (F. Darwin 1881a).
6
CD had sent Krause a copy of Nature, 27 January 1881 (see letter to Ernst Krause, 29 January 1881). It contained George John Romanes’s review of Samuel Butler’s Unconscious memory (Butler 1880); Krause had approved of the tone of the review (see letter from Ernst Krause, 10 February 1881). Butler replied to Romanes’s review in a letter published in Nature, 3 February 1881, pp. 312–13, causing Romanes to write a letter defending his review (see Nature, 10 February 1881, pp. 335–6).
7
The ultramontanists were Catholics who wanted to integrate church and state, with ultimate authority resting with the church.
8
Earthworms had gone to press on 1 May 1881 (Freeman 1977); CD and Francis had started correcting proof-sheets (see letter from Francis Darwin, 14 May 1881).

From Ernst Krause1   15 May 1881

Berlin N. O. Friedenstrasse 11.

15 May 81.

Most esteemed Sir!

Early today I had delivered to you under wrapper several numbers of the German weekly “Gartenlaube”, in which I gave a brief account of the extremely important results of your observations on the power of movements in plants.2 Your German publisher kindly lent me several plates to serve as illustrations.3 Should you take a look inside, I ask you to excuse the brevity with which I pass over the methodology and some of the central points, bearing in mind that this account was written for complete laymen, and accordingly had to be easily comprehensible and with as little detail as possible.

The Gartenlaube is our most widely read weekly and over 300,000 copies are circulated all over the world, wherever Germans live.4 Since I am extremely interested in the subject, I intend to offer yet another, more comprehensive account in one of our monthlies.

“Kosmos”, it can be assumed, probably will fare better in the hands of Mr Koch, who owns an important scientific publishing house, than with the previous proprietor, where it occupied an unfavourable place among miscellaneous medical and pharmaceutical works. I enriched the May issue, which you presumably received by now, with the lecture of your son Francis on “climbing plants” that was left with me for this purpose, and I thank him cordially for his kind permission and support regarding the corrections.5

I read with great satisfaction that Professor Romanes, in “Nature”, again took the opportunity to get across to Mr Butler the contemptibility of his behaviour towards you.6 I hope decent journals will exclude him from their pages in future, should he plan to take advantage of them again for such wretched purposes. In Germany no one has taken the least notice of the matter; even ultramontane papers, which usually know how to avail themselves of opportunities of this kind, possessed the self-respect to ignore these pathetic attacks.7

In conclusion, one more great favour! Should your new work on earthworms, which is reported in the journals, contain a chapter that might be suited for special communication in “Kosmos” (perhaps simultaneously or soon after it is published in book-form), might I kindly ask you to send me proofs of the sheets in question.8 Naturally the translation would bear a note saying that it is a sample of your new work. Of course you ought to have no misgivings of any sort about such a publication, otherwise I would naturally abandon it.

In the hope that these lines will find you in a desirable state of health, I remain dear Sir | Yours | truly devoted | Ernst Krause

1
For a transcription of this letter in its original German, see Transcript.
2
Krause’s summary of Movement in plants, written under his pseudonym, Carus Sterne, appeared in two instalments of Die Gartenlaube in April 1881 (Sterne 1881a). At the top of CD’s copy in DAR 226.1: 229–32, CD wrote in pencil, ‘Ernst Krause good abstract of Movt of Plants’.
3
The plates from Movement in plants that Krause used in Sterne 1881a were the following: fig. 66, p. 159, Pisum sativum (Sterne 1881a, p. 230); fig. 57, p. 78, Cyclamen persicum (Sterne 1881a, p. 285); fig. 62, p. 102, Cucurbita ovifera (Sterne 1881a, p. 286); fig. 145, p. 354, Lotus creticus (Sterne 1881a, p. 286); part of fig. 154, p. 370, Cassia corymbosa (Sterne 1881a, p. 287); fig. 160, p. 382, Acacia farnesiana (Sterne 1881a, p. 287).
4
For more on the popularity of Die Gartenlaube and its dissemination in German immigrant communities, see Belgum 1998.
5
Eduard Koch was the head of E. Schweizerbart’sche Verlagsbuchhandlung; the firm took over publication of Kosmos from Karl Alberts (Ernst Gunther’s Verlag) with the ninth volume (April–September 1881). Francis Darwin’s lecture on climbing plants had appeared in Popular Science Review in 1880 (F. Darwin 1880c); the German translation was published in the May 1881 issue of Kosmos (F. Darwin 1881a).
6
CD had sent Krause a copy of Nature, 27 January 1881 (see letter to Ernst Krause, 29 January 1881). It contained George John Romanes’s review of Samuel Butler’s Unconscious memory (Butler 1880); Krause had approved of the tone of the review (see letter from Ernst Krause, 10 February 1881). Butler replied to Romanes’s review in a letter published in Nature, 3 February 1881, pp. 312–13, causing Romanes to write a letter defending his review (see Nature, 10 February 1881, pp. 335–6).
7
The ultramontanists were Catholics who wanted to integrate church and state, with ultimate authority resting with the church.
8
Earthworms had gone to press on 1 May 1881 (Freeman 1977); CD and Francis had started correcting proof-sheets (see letter from Francis Darwin, 14 May 1881).

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-13158,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-13158