Ɛpsilon

To F. T. Köppen   28 April [1871]1

Down. | Beckenham | Kent. S.E.

April 28th

Dear Sir

I am greatly indebted to you for your valuable present of your Heuschrecken in Südrussland & for your interesting letter.2 I have no doubt I shall find much matter of value to me in your volume; but unfortunately I am a poor German scholar & read the language with much difficulty, which has been an irreparable loss to me.— The facts which you mention in your letter in relation to the increase of mice &c from the invasion of the grasshoppers are very curious; & it is a subject which always possesses a special interest for me.3

With much respect & my best thanks, I remain | Dear Sir | Yours faithfully | Ch. Darwin

1
The year is established by the relationship between this letter and the letter from F. T. Köppen, 25 April 1871.
2
CD refers to Köppen 1865 (On locusts in south Russia) and to the letter from F. T. Köppen, 25 April 1871.
3
CD touched on a similar relationship between mammal, insect, and plant in Origin, pp. 73–4, where he discussed the interactions of bees, cats, and mice in clover fields.

Manuscript Alterations and Comments

0.1 Beckenham] before del ‘Bromley.’

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-7723,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-7723