Ɛpsilon

From J. D. Hooker   21 August 1873

Royal Gardens Kew

Aug 21/73.

Dear Darwin

If convenient to you Strachey & I will leave by the 5"20 train from X cross on Saturday.1 I am aghast at the prospect of being cross-questioned on the subject of effect of watering in sun shine & fear that no amount of ingenious wriggling will save me from the reputation of an ignorant pretender to the part of Director of Kew

I hope that the young Biophytums answered.2

Ever yours affec | J D Hooker

Don’t you inconvenience yourself about a Carriage on Saturday

1
Hooker and Richard Strachey visited Down on 23 August 1873 (Emma Darwin’s diary (DAR 242)). Hooker refers to Charing Cross Station, from which the South Eastern Railway ran a service to Orpington, the closest station to Down House.
2
Hooker refers to plants of Oxalis sensitiva (a synonym of Biophytum sensitivum) that were sent to CD on 16 August 1873 (see letter to J. D. Hooker, 13 August 1873 and n. 3).

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-9018,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-9018