Ɛpsilon

To A. G. More   13 [August 1861]1

2. Hesketh Crescent | Torquay

13th

My dear Sir

As I asked you some time ago to be so kind as to have a look at Spiranthes,2 I write one line to say that I have found here hundreds of specimens, & have looked at so many I am sure of point referred to.—3 I was partly in error & partly correct.—

I shall be extremely curious to hear whether the experiment, which you so very kindly tried, on Ep. palustris has any influence on its setting seed.—4

With many thanks for all your valuable assistance— | Yours sincerely | Ch. Darwin

1
This letter was first published in Correspondence vol. 9, transcribed from a copy on which the full date is recorded (DAR 146: 401).
3
The point about Spiranthes that CD wanted More to confirm was the necessity of the ‘bristle or culm being bowed so as to strike middle line of the rostellum before it is withdrawn, in order that pollinia may be removed’ (see letter to A. G. More, 17 June 1861). See also Orchids, pp. 126–7.

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-3232,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-3232