To T. F. Jamieson   21 November 1862

Down. | Bromley. | Kent. S.E.

November 21— 1862

My dear Sir

I have great pleasure in expressing my strong opinion on your qualifications, as far as knowledge of the natural sciences is concerned, to give Lectures on Agriculture.1 I have read with admiration all your papers on the more recent geological changes in Scotland; & I can with entire truth say that according to my power of judging I have never read more able productions.2 I may add that the more recent geological phenomena are obviously those most connected with Agriculture. From our frequent correspondence, I am well aware that your knowledge of the several branches of Natural History is very considerable.

With my cordial wishes for that success, which I am sure you are well entitled to, I remain | My dear Sir | Yours sincerely | Charles Darwin

To | Th. F. Jamieson Esqre—

1
In a letter that is now missing, Jamieson had evidently asked CD for a reference; he was appointed Fordyce lecturer on agriculture at the University of Aberdeen in 1862 (Roll of the graduates of the University of Aberdeen).
2
Jamieson had written a number of important papers on the Pleistocene geology of Scotland (Jamieson 1858, 1860a, 1860b, and 1862). In particular, CD had been greatly impressed by Jamieson’s explanation of the so-called ‘parallel roads’ of Glen Roy, in Lochaber, Scotland, later detailed in Jamieson 1863 (see, for example, letter to Charles Lyell, 14 October [1862] and n. 3).

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-3818,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-3818