Ɛpsilon

To Richard Owen   10 September [1850]

Down Farnborough Kent

Sept. 10th.

My dear Owen

I always take shame to myself to trouble you, but I hope soon to go to press with my wearyful fossil Cirripedia, & am anxious to see the account in Mr Dixons work1 of the species therein described.— I believe you have superintended the whole: can you oblige me by a loan of the proof-sheets on Cirripedia?—2 Mr Sowerby has shown me the Plates.—3

Yours very sincerely | C. Darwin

P.S. | It this minute occurs to me that I have been intending to beg another favour of you, to get me permission to examine (if possible) one of the smaller specimens of Balanus glacialis in the Museum,4 attached to some shrimp-like creature. If such be possible, will you send parcel to diag C. Darwin

care of G. Snow

Nag’s Head

Borough.—ramme

I have in vain elsewhere endeavoured to see this Balanus. I write formal note to show if required.5

1
F. Dixon 1850.
2
Following the death of Frederick Dixon in 1849, Owen undertook to edit his work for the press. The volume was published the end of December 1850 (Publishers’ Circular, 1 January 1851).
3
J. de C. Sowerby made the drawings for F. Dixon 1850 (Fossil Cirripedia (1851): 38).
4
Listed in the catalogue, Royal College of Surgeons 1830, Pt IV, p. 74. However, in Living Cirripedia (1854): 262, CD stated: In various collections, I find specimens of B. crenatus, when coming from the arctic regions, called B. glacialis, … though I have not met with an authentic specimen of the B. glacialis of Gray … I have little doubt that it would prove to be the present species.

Manuscript Alterations and Comments

3.4 parcel to] before del ‘me’

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-1355,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-1355