From Andrew Murray   31 October 1864

Royal Horticultural Society, | South Kensington, W.

Oct 31 1864

My dear Mr Darwin

When I last wrote you, you were but poorly.—1 I hope you are now better—& if so I would like to speak to you about the work of ⁠⟨⁠which⁠⟩⁠ I enclose a programme.—2 ⁠⟨⁠It is a⁠⟩⁠ subject on which you have ⁠⟨⁠    ⁠⟩⁠ more perhaps than any other ⁠⟨⁠    ⁠⟩⁠ & I should be greatly oblige⁠⟨⁠d⁠⟩⁠ ⁠⟨⁠    ⁠⟩⁠ would point out any thing ⁠⟨⁠    ⁠⟩⁠ specially attended to wh⁠⟨⁠ich⁠⟩⁠ ⁠⟨⁠    ⁠⟩⁠ likely to make the wor⁠⟨⁠  ⁠⟩⁠ ⁠⟨⁠    ⁠⟩⁠

At times I get quite downhearted about it, when I recognise my deficiencies—but no person can be free from the same objection—& I think even a mere compilation on those branches of wh. I am ignorant ⁠⟨⁠    ⁠⟩⁠ be useful.—

⁠⟨⁠    ⁠⟩⁠ always noticed that ⁠⟨⁠    ⁠⟩⁠ person must first clear the ⁠⟨⁠    ⁠⟩⁠ with an imperfect work before ⁠⟨⁠    ⁠⟩⁠ ⁠⟨⁠  ⁠⟩⁠me to make the work right. ⁠⟨⁠    ⁠⟩⁠ can give me a little encourage⁠⟨⁠ment⁠⟩⁠ ⁠⟨⁠    ⁠⟩⁠ do so— I at times feel ⁠⟨⁠    ⁠⟩⁠ throw my notes in the fire & give it up.— But I shall have time for I am going to leave the Horticultural,3 & I proposed to refresh myself after my long dry business duties here, with a burst of Natural History

I am | My dear Sir | Yours very sincerely | Andw. Murray

CD’s reply to Murray has not been found (see letter from Andrew Murray, 15 February 1864 and n. 2), but his health was poor between September 1863 and mid-April 1864 (see Correspondence vol. 11, Appendix II, and this volume, letter to J. D. Hooker, 13 April [1864] and n. 5).
The enclosure has not been found, but it evidently gave details of a general work on geographical distribution that Murray was planning to write (see letter to Andrew Murray, 2 November [1864] and n. 2, and letter to J. D. Hooker, 3 November [1864]). CD and Murray had first corresponded on geographical distribution in 1860, in connection with Murray’s critical review of Origin (Murray 1860; see Correspondence vol. 8, letters to Andrew Murray, 28 April [1860], 28 [April 1860], and 5 May [1860], and letter from Andrew Murray, 3 May 1860). For CD’s interest in geographical distribution, see letter to Andrew Murray, 2 November [1864] and n. 5.
Murray had been assistant secretary of the Royal Horticultural Society since 1860 (R. Desmond 1994); his resignation was announced at the ordinary general meeting of the society held on 24 January 1865 (Proceedings of the Royal Horticultural Society 5 (1865), p. 1). See also Fletcher 1969, pp. 190, 199.

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-4648,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-4648