WCP5344

[1]

Thursday¹ [Friday, 6 March 1863]²

Dear Darwin

I am atrociously idle & prefer writing to you to anything else. What a bitter disappointment it must have been to put off the Lyells³! but what could you do — pray God the Eczema has come out & relieved you ere this.

Do not make "boiled greens'' of your plants. Any of these tropical things that look sickly &c had better have a hand ^bell-glass over them, tilted at the bottom to let air in.

[2] Do not be in a hurry about repotting these tender little things, or you will lose them. The Sonerila likes a nice moist-warmth, but not too hot. — & perhaps screening from sun, but the art & mystery of screening is utterly unintelligable [sic] to me.

Falconer⁴ is working up to a state of savagery against Lyell[']s book, & has arrived at the ^a state of virtuous indignation [3] about his treatment of Prestwich⁵ & Gunn's⁶ labors, which is the prelude to an onslaught about his own I expect in regard to the bone caves. I hear that Lyell will answer ^Owen7 in tomorrow[']s Athenaeun — if so I will send it ^{on by} tomorrow's post, & you can return it, by Monday[']s. if done with[.]

I must read the Aye-Aye^{8 paper} but I hear that his onslaught on Nasmyth⁹ in 1851 (in I think the Med. Chirurg. review¹⁰) is the masterpiece of Scientific vituperation & Billingsgate¹¹, & well worth the perusal — perhaps I shall get it & if so will let [4] you know.

We had a good meeting at Linnean last night, & a very long paper by F. Smith¹² on Wallace[']s ^{Hymenopt[era]} insects distribution, of ^& the very dullest thing I ever heard. I do hope that Bates¹³ will write more & keep Entomology within the pale of Science —

Wallace made a very few remarks worth all the paper.

I doubt getting down on ^a Sunday to you — as I have promised to go to Lubbock[']s¹⁴ on the 21^st to meet Colenso¹⁵!

You must stick for a few months to your Variation book¹⁶ & take the experiments mildly.

I have 4 tubers of the [5] Wild Potato — how shall I proceed with them? My life is too great a worry to experiment properly. & I cannot bring mind or time to bear upon it: I do assure you [one illeg. word struck through] that without joking Wedgwoods¹⁷ are an unspeakable relief to me — I look over them every Sunday morning — & poke into all the little 2^d hand shops I pass in London seeking medallions. The prices of vases are quite incredible — I saw a lovely butter-boat, & was quite determined to go up to 30/ for it, — at the dirtiest little [6] pig stye of a subterranean hole ^below in the wall of a shop you ever were in,— the price was £25. All this amuses me vastly — & is an enjoyable contrast to grim science. No Lady enjoys bonnets more heartily!

Ever my dear Darwin | Y[ou]r[s]¹⁸ affect[ionately] | J D Hooker [signature]