Ɛpsilon

To W. E. Darwin   [19 May 1864]1

Thursday

My dear Wm

Yr observation on the 1 big anther with its differently sized pollen grains is a quite new & most extraordinary discovery.2 I remember distinctly seeing one anther much larger than all the others; but I never dreamed of the pollen-grains differing.

Never mind whether it kills you or not search more flowers & measure pollen & keep memorandum how many times you succeed for I shall lay great stress on this to me most unexpected discovery.

I return your letter (which keep most safely) & it may be of service to you, but more especially because I think you have written one, or 2 words wrong which I have pencilled for correction.3

Never mind Menianthes Rhamnus4 or your life but work this out. Goodbye | what weather | C. D.

I wish you many ever get the little mare.5 She does beautifully—

L(S)

1
The date is established by the relationship between this letter and the letters from W. E. Darwin, 18 May [1864] and [20 May 1864] (Correspondence vol. 12).
2
See Correspondence vol. 12, letter from W. E. Darwin, 18 May [1864]. William had included sketches of the anthers of long-styled and short-styled flowers of Pulmonaria angustifolia (blue cowslip); see also letter from W. E. Darwin, [20 May 1864] and n. 3.
3
For CD’s annotations, see Correspondence vol. 12, letter from W. E. Darwin, 18 May [1864].
4
For CD’s query regarding Menyanthes (buckbean or marsh trefoil), see the letter from Emma Darwin to W. E. Darwin, [17 May 1864] (Correspondence vol. 12). For CD’s interest in Rhamnus (buckthorn), see ibid., letter from H. E. Darwin to W. E. Darwin, [18 May 1864] and n. 2. Most of CD’s work on Rhamnus was done in 1866 (see Correspondence vol. 14).
5
The mare was evidently a horse that William planned to buy, but which was kept at Down for some time (see Correspondence vol. 12, letter from H. E. Darwin to W. E. Darwin, [18 May 1864]).

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-5333,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-5333