Ɛpsilon

To W. H. Leggett   10 October [1873]1

Down, | Beckenham, Kent.

Oct 10th

Dear Sir

I received long ago your extremely obliging letter of June 15th,2 Occasionally numbers of the Bot. Bulletin are sent me by some one by Post, & I have always looked through them; but I am sorry to say that I have never received a number with any account of Apocynum.3 There seems often to be great delay in the transit of parcels by the Smithsonian Institute.4

With my best wishes for the success of your future observations— | Believe me Yours faithfully | Ch. Darwin

1
The year is established by the reference to Leggett’s papers on Apocynum (see n. 3, below).
2
Leggett’s letter to CD has not been found.
3
Leggett wrote five brief articles on the fertilisation of Apocynum androsaemifolium (fly-trap dogbane or spreading dogbane) in the Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club, of which he was editor, between October 1872 and June 1873 (Leggett 1872–3).
4
The Torrey Botanical Club had no formal connection with the Smithsonian Institution. In January 1872, CD had received a book through the Smithsonian that had been requested on his behalf in August 1871 (see Correspondence vol. 19, letter from L. H. Morgan, 1 August 1871, and Correspondence vol. 20, letter to L. H. Morgan, 20 January 1872).

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-9093,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-9093