Ɛpsilon

From J. D. Hooker   24 January 1872

Royal Gardens Kew

Jany 24/72

Dear Darwin

You will I am sure be glad to hear that William has come out in the first division of the Matriculation list at the L.U.1

Have you, or had you ever Zizinia aquatica— we have raised, flowered, & lost it several times: & this looks as if it were an annual, which I can hardly believe.2 Have you still Leersia?3

No news of my affairs: & I must again stir up the mud4

I met Miss Thackray the other day, & liked her so very much; she talked heaps about you all.5

I should like to run down to Down on Saturday 3d. if nothing prevents, & Mrs Darwin is “conformable”.6

Just now I am in agonies about these appointments to the Garden & Herbarium, which are taken out of my hands, & thrown open to open competition by Mr Ayrton— just fancy selecting your Gardeners by such a means.7

I have heard nothing of Henrietta8 for some time; how is she?

Ever yrs affec | J D Hooker

1
Hooker refers to William Henslow Hooker and to the University of London.
2
Hooker had asked CD whether he had Zizania aquatica (annual wild rice; ‘Zizinia’ is a misspelling) in 1871 also (see Correspondence vol. 19, letter from J. D. Hooker, 3 July 1871).
3
CD had acquired specimens of Leersia oryzoides in 1864 (see Correspondence vol. 12, letter from William Bennett, 25 May 1864), and sent Hooker specimens in 1866 (Correspondence vol. 14, letter to J. D. Hooker, 5 December [1866]).
4
Hooker refers to his dispute with Acton Smee Ayrton (see letter from J. D. Hooker, 1 January 1872 and n. 1).
5
Hooker presumably refers to Anne Isabella Thackeray. According to Emma Darwin’s diary (DAR 242), the ‘Miss Thackerays’ visited Down in March and May 1866. Anne’s sister, Harriet Marian, married Leslie Stephen in 1867 (ODNB).
6
According to Emma Darwin’s diary (DAR 242), Hooker did visit Down on 3 February 1872.
7
Ayrton had directed that appointments at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, be made by open competition in Civil Service examinations, taking no account of horticultural or botanical experience or qualifications (Nature, 11 July 1872, p. 215; L. Huxley ed. 1918, 2: 163).
8
Henrietta Emma Litchfield, CD’s eldest daughter.

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-8176,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-8176