To Pickard & Stoneman1   1 December [1862]2

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

December 1st

Sir

I shd. be very much obliged if you would answer me the following questions. You can return this note with answers which will save you trouble & I enclose envelope.—3

Would a case 36 inches long & 24 inches high act for stove plants, & price in varnished deal?4

Answer5

How many gallons of water does the pan of the 48 inch case hold?

Answer.6

The case will stand in window which comes to within 18 inches of floor.—

Do you think 20 inches would be good height for legs; or what height do you generally recommend?

Answer.7

Sir | Your obedt. sevt | Ch. Darwin

1
The recipient is identified by an entry in CD’s Account book–cash accounts (Down House MS) recording a payment to ‘Pickard’ of £4 14s. for a ‘Glass Plant case’ (see n. 4, below). Pickard & Stoneman was a firm of cabinet makers located at 10 Spencer Street, Shoreditch, London (Post Office London directory 1861).
2
The year is established by the inquiry concerning a case for ‘stove’ plants; CD ordered a case from Pickard & Stoneman on 11 December 1862 (see n. 1, above, and letter to J. D. Hooker, 12 [December 1862]).
3
The answers were written in the spaces provided (see nn. 5, 6, and 7, below).
4
CD required the plant case so that he could work with temperature-sensitive plants like Oxalis sensitiva (a synonym of Biophytum sensitivum; see letter from J. D. Hooker, 26 November 1862, and letter to J. D. Hooker, [after 26] November [1862]).
5
The recipient wrote: ‘Yes— Refer to Price List’. The enclosed price list has not been found.
6
The recipient wrote: ‘About 4 Gallons’.
7
The recipient wrote: ‘We consider for that height of Window, the legs Should be 18 inches—’.

Manuscript Alterations and Comments

2.2 ?] over ‘.—’
4.1 many gallons of] above del ‘much’

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-3839,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-3839