Ɛpsilon

To W. E. Darwin   3 January [1872]1

Down

Jan 3d.

My dear William

Your letter & facts are quite splendid.—2 I cannot conceive how you could have observed so much without aid.—

The depth of mould at different parts of slope & base is a most valuable observation.— The little step or slope round the great fallen stones very curious;— I suppose the worms work under the stones, & come up at nearest point, viz close outside.— There are many points which I want to discuss & get explained. Shall you be coming to Down within a month or so? We cannot reconcile the large & capital diagram with the 2d page of your letter: I imagine they refer to different parts.3 Again I am curious to know whether in the middle part of slope in diagram, whether the inclination is greater, for the furrows for a space are decidedly deeper than above or below.— I have made pencil notes on your letter,4 so that I shall not forget what to

incomplete5

1
The year is established by the relationship between this letter and the letter from W. E. Darwin, [1 January 1872].
3
The diagram has not been found in the Darwin Archive–CUL. CD’s notes for Earthworms are in DAR 63–5. The second page of the letter from W. E. Darwin, [1 January 1872], runs from ‘I unfortunately’ to ‘to do it quickly.’
4
See CD’s annotations to the letter from W. E. Darwin, [1 January 1872].
5
The bottom third of the third page of the letter has been excised.

Manuscript Alterations and Comments

2.1 base is] ‘is’ over del ‘—’
2.00 under the] ‘the’ interl

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-8140,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-8140