To K. E. S., L. C., and M. S. Wedgwood   4 [August 1862]1

Down

4th

My dear Angels!

I can call you nothing else.—

I never dreamed of your taking so much trouble; the enumeration will be invaluable.2 I will write this evening if possible & explain what I have very little doubt is the case with Lythrum, & which I am daily working to prove by most laborious crosses.—3

But I write now to ask whether you will be more angelic than angels & send me in tin, not tightly packed, with little damp (not wet) moss (perhaps tied round stems??) 2 or 3 flowers of both forms of Hottonia: I much wish to measure pollen & compare stigmas.—4

GoodBye | My dear Angels | C. Darwin

1
The date is established by the relationship to the letters from M. S. Wedgwood, [before 4 August 1862] and [6 August 1862].
3
CD apparently wrote a further letter (see letter from M. S. Wedgwood, [6 August 1862] and n. 3), but it has not been found. On CD’s crossing experiments with Lythrum salicaria, see, for example, the letter to Daniel Oliver, 29 [July 1862] and n. 6.

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-4373,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-4373