WCP5503

Letter (WCP5503.6236)

[1]

The Dell, Grays, Essex.

April 5th. 1873

Dear Sir

I am now amusing myself by endeavouring to naturalize European & other temperate plants in a piece of wild land I have here, and I particularly wish to obtain the finer species of European Orchids as I have chalky banks on which I think they will succeed well.

You have no doubt many young botanical students at Geneva, and I thought you might kindly induce some of these to collect me some orchids. If they are [2] dug up when the leaves are withering and the tubers packed in dry sand in a small box I have reason to think they will keep perfectly well, and grow with me. Any species of Orchis or Ophrys would be acceptable, except the following which I can obtain easily in England:

Orchis mascula. L. Aceras anthropophora. Br.
" maculata. L.
" morio. L. Ophyrs apifera. Huds.
" ustulata. L. " aranifera. Huds.
" purpurea. Huds. " muscifera. Huds.
" militaris. L.
" pyramidalis. L.
Gymnandenia [Gymnadenia] conopsea. Br.
Habenaria bifolia. Br.1

[3] Any expenses incurred in sending them I would gladly pay.

I have had the pleasure of reading your interesting and instructive work an "Histoire des Sciences et des Savants" [French: History of Sciences and Scientists]2 &c. and I wrote a short review of it in "Nature" of Feb. 13th.3 which I trust may have helped to make its value known in England.

With best wishes for your health

I remain | Yours very faithfully | Alfred R. Wallace [signature]

Mons[ieu]r Alphonse de Candolle

[4]4

1
All types of orchids.
2
Candolle, A. de 1873. Histoire des Sciences et des Savants Depuis Deux Siècles; Suivie D'autres Études sur des Sujets Scientifiques, en Particulier sur la Sélection dans L'espèce Humaine. Geneve, Bale, Lyon: H. Georg., Libraire-Editeur.
3
Wallace, A. 1873. Modern Applications of the Doctrine of Natural Selection. Nature 7: 277-279.
4
An annotation reads "R. Wallace 5 avril [French: April] 1873 R. 17 avril [18]73 pour[?] d omer[?] que L. lui verra un chéque et que [1 word illeg.] verrai [2 words illeg.] orchid[?]."

Editorial information

Status: Edited (but not proofed) transcription [Letter (WCP5503.6236)]

For more information about the transcriptions and metadata, see https://wallaceletters.myspecies.info/content/epsilon

Revision history

Transcribed by Cooper, Rod [2014-04-24] Transcription checked by Costa, Leslie [2020-03-19]

Please cite as “WCP5503,” in Beccaloni, G. W. (ed.), Ɛpsilon: The Alfred Russel Wallace Collection accessed on 27 April 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/wallace/letters/WCP5503