To J. D. Hooker   [8 or 15 July 1846]¹

My dear Hooker

I have been a shamefully bad correspondent; but I have not been quite so well as usual of late & have been overworked in trying to finish my S. American geology, of which I am inexpressibly wearied. We are extremely much obliged to you & to Sir W. & Lady Hooker for your invitation, which I had hoped much to accept in the Spring, but fear must now give up. My father’s health is rather failing & I must go there the last day of this month² & I have much work to do in the interval, & have just recommenced a course of Galvanism, wh. I sh^d be sorry to break through, as I have had a good deal more sickness than usual. My wife, moreover, has just returned from 18 days absence at Tenby.³ I am very sorry to give it up, as we both looked forward to the visit with much pleasure. Shall you be at Southhampton?⁴ I have some feeble thoughts of it; I sh^d like much to spin some scientific yarns (as you express it) with you.—

Now for your letter; by all means trust FitzRoys measurements in the Appendix,⁵ the difference I have no doubt arises from recalculation with more accurate data for refraction &c.— With respect to Antuco⁶ I know nothing; the little I know on snow-line I have given in my 1^st. Edit: of Journal.—⁷

I was very sorry to hear about poor Edmonston. The Galapagos seems a perennial source of new things; I hope you know which islands he visited.⁸

I was having some talk with Lyell about coal, when in London:⁹ his fossils from Alabama being most of them identical in species according to Bunbury with the coal-plants 20^o degrees N. in Europe, is an interesting fact: I told him of your remarks on the equability of climate & wide extension & he has quoted them in a Paper just despatched for Silliman’s Journal.¹⁰ The more I think on coal, the more utterly perplexed the subject appears to me. He finds the Oolitic coal resting on granite. with no underclay &c.—

I received some time since & finished Hopkirk: there is very little in it, & I will return it soon.—

I have just finished your late numbers of the A. Flora & have been in truth delighted with them: I read a good many books, but I know none, which are so suggestive as your’s;— I refer, of course, to your generalizations, such as your discussion under Myrtaceæ,¹¹ which interested me particularly, & even more your discussion on numbers of individuals & species: your conclusions on this latter point have surprised me much.¹² Long life to you & may your Book extend to a 100 numbers— By the way, you cannot think how proud I am at seeing how many species I collected: it has often been a vexation to me, how much trouble I threw away on some collections, amongst which I formerly ranked my plants, but now they are a real source of pleasure to me.

There is one point of detail in works, like yours or the Zoology of the Beagle, which I have often regretted; namely that there is not some conventional means of showing the general Habitat, from the particular habitat of the specimens under description: thus you sometimes put, “Habitat, Chonos Isl^d.” & in turning over the page & reading your remarks I find it also inhabits Chiloe & Chile &c.—

Farewell, I shall be very glad to have some talk with you again, till we meet goodbye. | Ever yours | C. Darwin