Ɛpsilon

To Henry Johnson   23 December 1871

Down, | Beckenham, Kent.

Dec 23. 1871

My dear Johnson

I am much obliged for yr letter & very kind invitation; but I am sorry to say that the exertion of coming to Shrewsbury wd be far beyond my strength.1 I am particularly obliged to you for being willing to go to Wroxeter; for the observations will be difficult to make, & you may not succeed in finding sim⁠⟨⁠ple⁠⟩⁠ sections.2 I send by this p⁠⟨⁠ost⁠⟩⁠ my old paper, which will shew you a little what I am after. Now I have succeeded in ascertaining the exact weight annually cast up by earth worms over a square yard: it amounts to 16 110 tons of dry earth per acre.3

I thank you for telling me your family news & I wish it was in my ⁠⟨⁠12 page missing⁠⟩⁠

P.S. We are reading Miss Meteyard, but find it full of inacuracies & lament that she obtained letters never meant to be published.4

LS incomplete

1
Johnson’s letter to CD has not been found.
2
CD cited Johnson for information about the depth of soil over the Roman ruins at Wroxeter in Earthworms, pp. 221–8.
3
CD probably sent a copy of a paper he read in 1837 before the Geological Society of London, ‘Formation of mould’. See also letter from L. C. Wedgwood, 20 November [1871] and n. 2.
4
Eliza Meteyard had published a biography of Josiah Wedgwood I (Meteyard 1865–6; see Correspondence vol. 13); she had used letters supplied by CD (see Correspondence vol. 13, letter from Eliza Meteyard, 17 November 1865).

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-8118A,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-8118A