Ɛpsilon

To L. J. Jones   2 November 1881

Down, | Beckenham, Kent. | (Railway Station | Orpington. S.E.R.)

November 2d. 1881.

Dear Sir

It is extremely kind in you to have taken the trouble of informing me of the error which you have discovered.1 As soon as more copies are printed off, I will hunt up my notes & endeavour to find out how the horrid error arose. It is just possible that the amount per square yard was 1 lb 1412 oz instead of 1 : 1312 oz. All the calculations were checked by some member of my family;2 but somehow I never escape blunders.

Two others have been discovered, almost as bad as that which you have discovered, excepting that they are so flagrant they cd. deceive no one.3

Again thanking you, I remain, Dear Sir | Yours faithfully | Ch. Darwin

1
See letter from L. J. Jones, 1 November [1881] and n. 2. The correction appeared in the next printing (fifth thousand) of Earthworms, p. 165.
2
See letter from L. J. Jones, 1 November [1881] and n. 3. The calculations had been done by George Howard Darwin (see Earthworms, p. 269).
3
For the other corrections, see the letter to J. V. Carus, 2 November 1881.

Manuscript Alterations and Comments

0.1 (Railway … S.E.R.)] parentheses added

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-13452,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-13452