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From John Hutton Balfour   22 April 1863

27 Inverleith Row | Edinburgh

22 April 1863

My Dear Sir

Many thanks for your paper on Linum which is a most valuable contribution to science.1

One of my gardeners is prosecuting the subject of such fertilization vigorously.2 He is much indebted to you for your kind encouragement.3 He has just put into my hands a paper which I hope to read at next meeting of the Botanical Society.4

I am | Yours sincerely | J H Balfour

1
‘Two forms in species of Linum’ was read before the Linnean Society on 5 February and published in the society’s journal on 13 May 1863 (General index to the Journal of the Linnean Society, p. vi). Balfour’s name appears on CD’s presentation list for ‘Two forms in species of Linum’ (Correspondence vol. 11, Appendix IV).
2
The reference is to John Scott, keeper of the propagating department at the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh, where Balfour was director (R. Desmond 1994).
3
CD had become a mentor for Scott’s experimental work (see, for example, letter from John Scott, [after 12] April [1863] and n. 5).
4
Balfour refers to Scott’s paper on orchid pollination, Scott 1863a, which Scott himself read before the Botanical Society of Edinburgh on 14 May 1863 (see letter from John Scott, 21 May [1863]).

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-4119,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-4119