Ɛpsilon

From J. B. Bacon to Elizabeth Drysdale   [1857–62?]1

My dear Lady Drysdale—

I have asked my man the questions you wished about the heath. He says it is a slow growing plant and is generally cut every 6 years but that there is no fixed period. The cutting it, does not depend upon its having come to its full growth. It is often burnt down and sheep are fed on the young shoots that spring up— of course it will grow more luxuriantly on some soils than others but he does not seem to think there is any limit to its life as the roots send up fresh shoots when the upper part dies away. For making use of it from burning I should think from what he says that it would be in the best condition at 6 yrs. growth. I am afraid these particulars will be scarcely explicit enough for your purpose.2

Believe Me | Yours Sincerely | J B Bacon

CD annotations

1.2 generally … years] underl red crayon
Top of letter: ‘Growth of Heath from Burning & other purpose about 6 years in Surrey’ ink; ‘Ch V.’ red crayon
1
The year range is conjectured from the subject matter; CD made notes on heaths, associated with chapter 5 of his ‘big book’ on species (posthumously published as Natural selection) between November 1857 and May 1862 (DAR 46.1: 32 and 53). This letter was preserved in the same portfolio of notes. See Natural selection, pp. 172–3, 196, 198, and Origin, pp. 71–2. Bacon has not been further identified, but the motto ‘Mediocria firma’ printed as a letterhead suggests that he or she was a member of the famous family to which Sir Francis Bacon (1561–1626) also belonged. CD met Elizabeth Drysdale at Moor Park, Farnham, Surrey, in 1857 (Correspondence vol. 6, letter to J. D. Hooker, 25 June [1857]).
2
The specific question about heath has not been identified. Heath is not one plant but an assemblage of shrubby vegetation, typically growing on acidic, nutrient-poor ground, such as sandy or peaty soils; plants of the genera Erica, Sphagnum, Carex, Molinia, and Trichophorum are typical of heaths. CD did not make use of this information about burning or cutting heath.

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-2626,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-2626