To Thomas Rivers   5 March [1863]1

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

March 5th

My dear Sir

I write one line just to thank you sincerely for additional information on weeping trees & for your great kindness in writing about the Sophora.2 If you could remember, when you see the Weeping Elm in seed, & would send me a few seed; I would force them on, & see whether they weeped.—3

The double Peach is in beautiful flower & I do hope it may set some fruit. The almond,, alas, has not produced one flower; so I shall have to beg a specimen of a fresh fruit in summer for comparison with fruit of double Peach.4

I have been very unwell (& my hand is tremulous & worse than usual) for last 10 days & have very great fear I must knock off all work & go to Malvern for two months.5 It breaks my heart, with so many things to do & observe.—

Depend on it that Lindley will never let your article pass unpublished.6 I was at Kew about a fortnight ago & was mentioning your kindness, & Dr. Hooker burst out in admiration of your articles.—7

Believe me | Yours very sincerely | Ch. Darwin

1
The year is established by the relationship between this letter and the letter to Thomas Rivers, 1 February [1863], and by the reference to CD’s visit to London (see n. 7, below).
2
The letter from Rivers has not been found. CD wrote drafts of the chapters on inheritance for Variation (Variation 2: 1–84) between 23 January and 1 April 1863 (see ‘Journal’ (Correspondence vol. 11, Appendix II)). In his letter to Rivers of 1 February [1863], CD asked for information concerning the character of seedlings from weeping trees; Rivers provided the information in his reply of [3 February 1863].
4
CD refers to plants sent to him by Rivers in January 1863 (see letters to Thomas Rivers, 11 January [1863], 15 January [1863], and 25 January [1863], and letter from Thomas Rivers, 21 January 1863). See also letter to Thomas Rivers, [9 May 1863], n. 4.
5
CD refers to James Manby Gully’s hydropathic establishment at Great Malvern, Worcestershire. On the state of CD’s health, see also the letter to H. W. Bates, 4 March [1863], n. 10.
6
John Lindley was editor of the horticultural section of the Gardeners’ Chronicle; an article by Rivers on seedling raspberries and strawberries was published in the Gardeners’ Chronicle, 14 March 1863, pp. 244–5.
7
Joseph Dalton Hooker was assistant director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (R. Desmond 1994); CD visited Hooker there on 11 February 1863 (see ‘Journal’ (Correspondence vol. 11, Appendix II)).

Manuscript Alterations and Comments

1.3 & would] ‘&’ over ‘I’
1.3 seed; I 1.4] ‘seed’ interl
2.1 double] above del ‘dwarf’
3.1 (& my hand … usual)] added
3.3 heart, with] ‘, with’ over ‘.—’

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-4023,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-4023