Ɛpsilon

To George William Johnson or Robert Hogg1   20 December [1862]2

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

Dec. 20th

Dear Sir

I am extremely much obliged to you for your kindness in sending me the Strawberry Hybrid, which I have planted.3 When the communication appears in the Journal will be in ample time for my purpose.—4

Dear Sir | Yours faithfully | Charles Darwin

1
The correspondent is identified by the reference to his having sent CD a strawberry hybrid (see n. 3, below); Johnson and Hogg were the editors of the Journal of Horticulture.
2
The year is established by the reference to William Smith’s letter to the Journal of Horticulture (see n. 3, below).
3
The reference is to three runners of a hybrid strawberry, which were sent to Johnson and Hogg by William Smith of York, in response to CD’s letter to the Journal of Horticulture of [before 25 November 1862]. Smith requested that the editors send CD the runners if they thought he might be interested in them (Journal of Horticulture n.s. 3 (1862): 779). No letter on this subject from Hogg or Johnson has been found. Smith’s letter to the Journal of Horticulture was published in the number for 30 December 1862, with the editorial comment: ‘Mr. Darwin, to whom we forwarded all the runners, is very much obliged, and has planted them.’
4
This appears to be a reference to Smith’s letter to the Journal of Horticulture (see n. 3, above).

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-3870,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-3870