Ɛpsilon

To Adolf Reuter   27 September 1869

Down. | Beckenham | Kent. S.E.

Sep. 27. 1869

Dear Sir

I am very much obliged for your extremely courteous letter, & for your valuable notes together with the specimens.1

It is very good of you to take so much trouble for my sake.

I shall give several of your notes in any future edition of my work. The facts about grafting & budding are perhaps the most important.2 But the case of the great difference in hardiness in the varieties of the Syringa Persica has particularly struck me. The varieties themselves are also very curious.3

Dr Hooker of Kew happened to be staying here, & I shewed him your specimens, several of which were new to him.4

With my best thanks for your very great kindness I beg leave to remain dear Sir | yours very faithfully | Charles Darwin

LS

2
Reuter’s experiments on grafting potatoes are mentioned in Variation 2d ed., 1: 422, but this information is cited from a published source. Reuter did not mention potatoes in his notes with his letter of 23 September 1869.
3
CD had mentioned Syringa persica (Persian lilac) in Varation 2: 164 in a discussion of the effects of climate on fertility. See letter from Adolph Reuter, 23 September 1869 and n. 8.

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-6912,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-6912