To F. B. Zincke   7 November 1881

Dear Sir

I have heard this morning that a 4^th thousand of my Earth-worm book must be printed off.—¹ If you do not object, I sh^d. like to give on your authority the case of the Celt. But I do not understand whether you actually measured the thickness of the upper Dark vegetable mould & of the “Sandy loam”.² I sh^d., also, like to hear a little more in detail the nature of this sandy loam & its colour.— If the vegetable mould & the sandy loam were both heated to redness, would they afterwards resemble each other? Were any number of stones or other objects besides the celts found on the surface of the pan? If you consent to allow me to publish the case, I fear that I must trouble you to give me the information soon, as Murray writes that 3500 copies are actually sold, & only 3000 as yet have been printed off.—³

I remain in haste | Dear Sir | Yours faithfully & obliged | Ch. Darwin

P. S. | I read some time ago with wonderful interest your account of French peasant-life in Auvergne.—⁴