To Edward Frankland   22 April [1874]1

2, Bryanston Street, | Portman Square. W.

Ap. 22

Dear Professor Frankland

I want very much to speak to you for a few minutes about drosera. May I call tomorrow (Thursday) or Friday or any day, and the earlier in the morning the better for me.2 Perhaps at or directly after your breakfast. A few minutes would be sufficient. Will you send me a post card in answer—

yours very sincerely | Ch. Darwin

As I am rather often apt to be unwell I cannot avoid sometimes breaking engagements.

LS

1
The year is established by the address and the reference to Drosera (see nn. 2 and 3, below). CD was interested in Drosera (sundew) for his book Insectivorous plants, which was published in 1875; before this, he stayed with his daughter Henrietta Emma Litchfield in Bryanston Street, London, only in April 1874.
2
CD had been corresponding with Frankland since July 1873 about the acids in the digestive secretions of Drosera (see letter to Edward Frankland, 12 April 1874).

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-9424A,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-9424A