From J. D. Hooker   [26 February 1862?]1

Kew

Wednesday

Dr. Darwin

The box of Melastomads has arrived all safe.2 I hope you paid nothing on this—for carriage but I see 2/6 in red ink on one direction, & there is 1/10 charged here. We are so awfully cheated here by carriers &c &c that I think it best to tell you of this. There is no railway ticket on the box, though you have directed it to go “by rail”. Can you find out what you paid for the box when you received it.—

I had a talk with the D of Argyll about your book on species, he seems to be between two stools—Owen & Lyell3

Ever yours | J D Hooker

1
The date is conjectured from the relationship to the letter from J. D. Hooker, 27 February 1862; the preceding Wednesday was 26 February.
3
The references are to George Douglas Campbell (the eighth duke of Argyll), Richard Owen, and Charles Lyell. Charles Kingsley also provided an account of Campbell’s reaction to Origin at this time (see letter from Charles Kingsley, 31 January 1862).

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-3455,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-3455