Ɛpsilon

To J. S. Burdon Sanderson   27 May [1874]1

Down, | Beckenham, Kent.

May 27th

My dear Dr. Sanderson

Your information is invaluable to me. For Heaven sake do not apologise for delay, for it makes me feel more guilty in having given you such immense trouble. If all fibrous basis of bone is dissolved by artificial gastric juice, & if, as I understand all gluten & all fibrin is dissolved with the fatty acids & pepsin, the ferment of Drosera must differ considerably from pepsin.2

Yours very truly | Ch. Darwin

1
The year is established by the relationship between this letter and the letter from J. S. Burdon Sanderson, 26 May [1874].
2
See letter from J. S. Burdon Sanderson, 26 May [1874] and n. 3. CD was comparing the digestive secretions of Drosera (sundew) with those of an artificial animal stomach. For the results of the experiments on the fibrous basis of bone, see Insectivorous plants, pp. 108–9.

Manuscript Alterations and Comments

1.3 basis] after del ‘m’

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-9473,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-9473