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To Thomas Rivers   17 August [1863]1

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

Aug 17th

My dear Sir

The almond tree which you gave me has produced no fruit; but the Double Chinese Peach has 3 fruit.2 Now, if you have any bearing Almond trees, would you have kindness, when fruit ripe to send me 2 or 3; & if you have any other odd peach 2 or 3 to compare the stones.—3 The best address is

“C. Darwin”

“care of Down Postman”

per Rail “Bromley”

“Kent”

I presume you have no more facts for me to quote on inheritance of weeping trees; you said, if you had time, you could prove the weeping elm.—4

Now I am going to beg another favour. Have you yourself seen any kind of modification in fruit or foliage any fruit-tree from being grafted. Andrew Knight & others assert that slight differences do result;5 others positively deny this. Can you give me any certain facts?6

Lastly I ask on mere improbable chance of the point having occurred to you: viz do you believe & can you any how account for the positive statements of several good pears (& several varieties of wheat) having been discovered as seedlings in hedges & woods. On mere doctrine of chances, this might perhaps have occasionally occurred; but the occurrence seems too frequent for mere chance. I have not yet collected such recorded cases, as I have met with, but I know that I have several. & in a day or two shall collect them.7

Pray excuse me thus troubling you, & believe me, My dear Sir | Yours sincerely | Ch. Darwin

1
The year is established by the relationship between this letter and the letter from Thomas Rivers, 21 January 1863.
3
See letter to Thomas Rivers, [9 May 1863] and n. 4. CD acknowledged Rivers for providing specimens of peach and almond stones in Variation 1: 338–9.
4
This comment may have been in the part of the letter from Thomas Rivers, [3 February 1863], that is now missing. CD cited observations made by Rivers on seedlings of varieties of weeping elm in Variation 2: 19. See also letters to Thomas Rivers, [14 February 1863] and nn. 3 and 6, and 5 March [1863].
5
The reference is to Thomas Andrew Knight and to Knight 1815. CD discussed Knight’s conclusions on the effects of grafting in Variation 1: 387, and 2: 278 n. 29.
6
No letter from Rivers in answer to this query has been found; however, Rivers evidently provided examples of cases in which grafting had produced alterations in the stock plants (see Variation 1: 394).
7
Examples of new varieties of fruit-trees and wheat occurring in woodland and wasteland, including one provided by Rivers, are given in Variation 2: 260–1. This information appeared in the section of Variation entitled ‘Causes of variability’ (Variation 2: 250–70); CD had completed the draft of the preceding section, entitled ‘Selection’, on 20 July 1863 (see ‘Journal’ (Correspondence vol. 11, Appendix II)).

Manuscript Alterations and Comments

1.2 bearing] interl
1.3 fruit] interl
3.2 fruit or foliage] interl
3.2 -tree] added
3.3 assert] ‘a’ over illeg
4.7 & in a day … them.] added
5.1 you,] after del comma

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-4270,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-4270