An Annotated Calendar of the Letters of Charles Darwin in the Library of the American Philosophical Society
1799-1882
(2.5 linear feet)

Part III: Numbers 401-626
B D25

© American Philosophical Society
105 South Fifth Street * Philadelphia, PA 19106-3386
 American Philosophical Society 105 South Fifth Street Philadelphia, PA 19106-3386
Arrangement

Detailed inventory

 401. To M[ichael] FOSTER; Down (type 6) [1871 June] 29 [pmk. JU29/ 71] ALS; 8 x5; 1p. and env., add. [Dr. M. Foster/ 5. Vanburgh Park Road/ Blackheath] B D25.104

Thanks for curare; what Foster says about amoebae is "a damper".1

Note: 1. See preceding letter, above.

402. To [John Dean CATON]; Down (type 6) 1871 July 20th ALS; 8 x5; 2p. B D25.254

Bearers of this note are CD's two sons [George Howard Darwin and Francis Darwin],1 who are touring [United] States; please extend aid to them and show them corr.'s "famous Deer-park";2 sent copy of Darwin, Descent of Man (1871).

Note: 1. See Emma Darwin, II, 250 and 250n.
2. See Caton, The Antelope and Deer of America..., 2nd ed. (New York: Forest and Stream Publishing Company, 1877), esp. ix. Recipient of this letter determined by this reference to deer park.

403. To J[ohn] Royle MARTIN; Down (type 6) 1871 Sep 15. LS; 8 x5; 2p. (enclosures wanting) B D25.132

Thanks for letter of 12th; takes ten shares in Artizan's Dwelling Company; will send check for L 100.

404. To?; Down (type 6) [1871] Oct. 10th ALS; 8 x5; 2p. B D25.132

Experiment suggested by corr. is not worthwhile; any difference in the duration of human bones would have been detected already in old bones found in caverns and tumuli and in mummies; [Thomas Henry] Huxley has sent an admirable review of [St. George Jackson] Mivart's book to the Contemporary for the November number;1 is preparing new [sixth] edition of Darwin, Origin [(1872)].

Note: 1. See: Mivart, On the Genesis of Species (London: Macmillan, 1871); and Huxley, "Mr. Darwin's Critics," Contemporary Review, 18 (1871): 443-76, issued November, 1871.

405. To?; Down (type 6) [ca. 1871-1875]1 Jan. 8th ALS; 8 x5; 1p. B D25.79

Thanks for letter of January 6; declines to join movement mentioned by corr., since CD is ignorant of the arguments on either side of the issue.

Note: 1. Years determined by Down address variant used. This method first suggested for this letter by Sydney Smith, St. Catharine's College, Cambridge University.

406. To?; Down (type 6) [ca. 1871-1875]1 March 23d ALS; 8 x5; 1p. B D25.219

Lists gold and silver pheasant in table of authentic crosses among the Phasianidae, drawn up several years ago, but has by accident omitted this case [in recent publication]; would not have introduced it without fairly good evidence; hopes corr. will publish case.

Note: 1. Years determined by Down address variant used.

407. To [Thomas Campbell] EYTON; Down (type 6) [ca. 1871-1875]1 June 8th ALS; 8 x5; 2p. and end. [1647 to 73/ Original Sketch/ 4th (Amsl.?) 1676/ another 1686] B EY83 v.2, p.75

Thanks for letter; story must be "a cock & a Bull," since [Robert] Swinhoe, who knows Formosa well, would have heard of it otherwise; would like extract to send to Swinhoe, now in China; discusses health.

Note: 1. Years determined by Down address variant used.

408. To?; Down (type 6) [ca. 1871-1875]1 June 9th ALS; 8 x5; 1p. B D25.25

Would be happy to read paper, but is a poor critic; believes all he reads until long reflection causes doubts; finds such reflection hard work nowadays; has no mathematical knowledge.

Note: 1. Years determined by Down address variant used.

409. To [Léo Abram ERRERA]; Down (type 6) [ca. 1871-1875]1 July 9th ALS; 8 x5; 1p. B D25.224

Thanks for exertions in CD's behalf; regrets waste of corr.'s time.

Note: 1. Years determined by Down address variant used.

410. To?; Down (type 6) [ca. 1871-1875]1 Nov. 8th ALS; 8 x5; 1p. B D25.132

Orders a "Vulcanized Indian-Rubber Enema of medium size."

Note: 1. Years determined by Down address variant used. The following persons helped to date this letter: Sydney Smith, St. Catharine's College, Cambridge University; Sir Hedley Atkins and Philip Titheradge, Down House; and Dr. Ralph Colp, Jr., New York City.

411. To [John Edward] GRAY; Down (type 6) [ca. 1872]1 Feb. 4th ALS; 8 x5; 1p. B G784

Remembers "reading in Molina about the Huemul";1 asked about it in southern parts of South America, concluded it did not exist; must be rare; glad Gray has made out what it is;1 regards to Mrs. [Maria Emma] Gray.

Note: 1. See: Giovanni Ignazio [i.e. Juan Ignatius] Molina, The Geographical, Natural and Civil History of Chili, 2v., tr. from the original Italian (London: 1809); and Gray, "On the Guémul (Huamela leucotis)," Ann. Mag. nat. Hist., 10 (1872): 445-46; and 11 (1873): 214-20 and 308-10. Discussion is about the guemal, or South American deer. Year for letter determined by date of publication of Gray's paper.

412. To Messrs. Appleton & Co.; Down (type 6) 1872 March 16. ALS; 7 x4.5 3p. B D25.138

Thanks for letter of February 23; is gratified about sale of CD's works; thanks for payment of L 427·13·8, to be sent by Mr. Layton; is glad Darwin, Journal [of Researches] sells well.

413. To?; Down (type 6) 1872 Ap 8. LS; 8 x5; 2p. B D25.195

Thanks for paper and kind remarks; had read [Harriet] Martineau's book [The Positive Philosophy of Auguste Comte, freely translated and condensed by H. Martineau (1853)] and others on [Isidore Auguste Marie Francois Xavier] Comte, but had forgotten Comte's observations on relations of man to the lower forms of life.

414. To?; Down (type 6) [1872] April 12th [end. 1872./ April 13.] ALS; 8 x5; 1p. and end. [1872./ C. Darwin/ Kent./ April 13 (and) 1872/ C. Darwin/ Down/ Apr 15] and attached enclosure1 B D25.205

Orders the following: J[ohn R.] Leifchild, The Higher Ministry of Nature... ([London]: Holder & Stoughton [sic; Staughton], [1872]); Erm Müller, The Application of the Darwinian Theory to Flowers, and the Insects Which Visit Them (Salem, Mass.: Naturalists' Agency, n.d.);1 and James [Bradbridge] Hunter, "A Review of Darwin's Theory" (New York: Appleton and Co., [1871]), previously ordered, and which CD is anxious to get.2

Note: 1. Enclosure is a broadside advertisement for Müller's book. Müller's publication is reprinted from Am. Nat., 5 (1871): 271-97. See also Vorzimmer, Reprint Catalogue, item R.212.
2. The review appeared in the Journal of Psychological Medicine; see Vorzimmer, Reprint Catalogue, item R.213.

415. To [Charles] LYELL; Down (type 6) [1872] May 10th ALS; 8 x5; 4p. B D25.L

Printed in full, with minor changes: More Letters, I, 336-37 (letter 250). p. 336, line 9, and p. 337, line 1, change "a higher grade" to "higher grades".

416. To [Charles] LYELL; Down (type 6) [1872]1 May 22 ALS; 8 x5; 2p. B D25.L

Thanks for letter; see Darwin, Origin [(1872)], new edition, pp. 332 and 348, for remarks "on forms not changing when migrating in a body"; some naturalists think this view true; read Prof. [Friedrich Leopold August] Weismann, Ueber den Einfluss der Isolirung [auf die Artbildung] (Leipzig: [Wilhelm Engelmann], 1872); Lyell has had a grand tour.1

Note: 1. The Lyells had gone to France; see Life of Lyell, II, 438. This, plus date of publication of sixth edition of Origin, determine year for this letter.

417. To "Madam"; Down (type 6) 1872 May 23 LS; 8 x5; 4p. B D25.6

Thanks for letter; will help corr. if possible; wrote to judge at Crystal Palace for dates of reports and information about books on cats; does not know of works exclusively on larger felines; read [Alfred Edmund] Brehm's [Illustrirtes] Thierleben [6v. (Hildburghausen: Bibliographisches Institute, 1864-1869)], which has been translated into French; thanks for information about fertility of crossed Angora and common cats; does not think characters of two fathers can be transmitted to single individual, but new paper by Fritz Müller indicates this is possible; thanks for book, which CD hopes will discuss expression of emotions in cats.

418. To [Charles] LYELL; Down (type 6) 1872 June 1 LS; 8 x5; 2p. (enclosure wanting) B D25.L

Thanks for Wood's interesting letter; there is much evidence that varieties of fruit trees transmit characters to a large extent, but Wood's cases exhibit exceptionally close identity; [Joseph] Decaisne has recorded cases of surprising diversity; sterility of Wood's seedlings is most remarkable point; "...if they had been planted separately in good ground, they wd not have been so sterile after early youth"; consider, for example, great fertility of seedling peach trees in Americas and in Australia; returns Wood's letter.

419. To [?Michael FOSTER]; Down (type 6) [?1872]1 June 6th LS; 8 x5; 3p. B D25.243

Has read corr.'s little essay; it tells exactly what CD wanted to know, namely, how far our knowledge extended and where we were ignorant; invites corr. to Down; some of CD's sons will be home in week or two; is ill, so can only talk for short periods.

Note: 1. Year determined by Sydney Smith, St. Catharine's College, Cambridge University; address, however, is printed to right side of page, which with this Down address variant usually indicates a year of 1871.

420. To [Charles] LYELL; Down (type 6) [1872] July 12th ALS; 8 x5; 4p. B D25.L

Printed, with minor changes and minor omissions: More Letters, II, 164-65 (letter 511).

421. From John T[homas] GULICK; c/o Mrs Delacour/ Frindsbury Hill/ Rochester/ Kent 1872 July 27th Saturday ALS; 7 x4.5 4p. B G96

CD's account of Galapagos Islands [in Darwin, Journal of Researches (1839)], read long ago, led Gulick to study distribution of species at Sandwich Islands; see Gulick's article in July 18 number of Nature; is visiting England; wants to meet CD and show him some land shells from Sandwich Islands, "illustrating the extremely limited distribution of the species, and the continuous gradation of forms from one species into another"; will leave soon for North China and Mongolia.

422. To J[ohn] T[homas] GULICK: Down (type 6) [1872] July 28th [pmk. JY29/ 72] ALS; 8 x5; 4p. and env., add. [J. T. Gulick Esqr--/ care of Mrs. Delacour/ Frindsbury Hill/ Rochester], end. [From Darwin] B G96

Printed in full, with minor changes: Addison Gulick, Evolutionist and Missionary: John Thomas Gulick... (Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press, 1932), 233-34. p. 234, line 1, missing name is "Prof. [Franciscus Cornelius] Donders of Utrecht (whom I could not refuse to see)".

423. To J[ohn] T[homas] GULICK; Down (type 6) [1872] Aug. 8th [pmk. AU8/ 72] ALS; 8 x5; 3p. and env., add. [The Revd. J. T. Gulick/ at Mrs. Delecour/ Frindsbury Hill/ Rochester.], end. [From Darwin] B G96

Printed, with minor changes: Addison Gulick, Evolutionist and Missionary: John Thomas Gulick (Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press, 1932), 234-35. At beginning of letter is: notes crossed on the road; cannot do anything about Gulick's paper;1 the secretaries act like judges and demur to any suggestions being made to them; is prejudiced in favor of Gulick's subject. p. 235, line 1, change "Section" to "[Secys.?]".

Note: 1. Refers, perhaps, to Gulick, "Diversity of Evolution under One Set of External Conditions," Rep. Br. Ass. Advmt Sci., 42 (1872), pt. 2: 136. Full paper printed in J. Linn. Soc. (Zool.), 11 (1873): 496-505.

424. To [Joseph Dalton] HOOKER; Down [1872] Aug. 30th [pmk. AU30/ 72] ANS on p.c.; 3 x4 3/4; 1p. and add. [Dr. Hooker F.R.S./ Kew/ London W.] B D25.113

Acknowledges check and note; will not send it to bank until after talking with Hooker.

425. To [John Maurice] HERBERT; Down (type 6) 1872 Nov 21. LS; 8 x5; 4p. B D25.H

Has just published Darwin, Expression of the Emotions (1872); has sent Herbert a copy; recalls "jolly old days" at Barmouth and Cambridge;1 does Herbert remember anonymously giving CD a microscope; no other event in CD's life "surprised & gratified me more"; is "a confirmed invalid"; wants news of [Charles Thomas] Whitley; has seen S[amuel] Butler, author of Erewhon... [(London: 1872)] and son of Tom [i.e. Thomas] Butler; latter has become "a very unpleasant old man."

Note: 1. See Life and Letters I, 165-66. Concerning the microscope, see Gavin deBeer, ed., "The Darwin Letters at Shrewsbury School," Notes Rec. R. Soc. Lond., 23 (1968): 73.

426. To?; Down (type 6) 1873 Ap. 7 LS; 8 x5; 2p. B D25.35

Thanks for invitation and for catalogue of corr.'s collection of Cretacean fossils; would like to see Brighton Aquarium, but poor health forbids it; accepts corr.'s curious instance of inheritance.

427. To [Charles] LYELL; Down (type 6) [1873]1 May 16th ALS; 8 x5; 2p. B D25.L

Thanks for copy of fourth edition of Lyell, [The Geological Evidences of the] Antiquity of Man [(London: John Murray, 1873)]; will read over the modified or new parts; book seems larger than earlier editions.

Note: 1. Year determined from date of publication of Lyell's book.

428. To G[eorge] CUPPLES; Down (type 6) [1873] June 7th [end. June 10/ 73; pmk. JU7/ 73] ALS; 8 x5; 4p. and env., add. [G. Cupples Esqr/ The Cottage/ Guard Bridge/ Fifeshire/ N.B.], end. [Mr Darwin/ Recd. June 10/ 73] B D25.148

Thanks for letter, for former letter, and for report of [Julius] Victor Carus's lecture; is away from home on rest trip;1 glad CD's suspicion about [James Hutchinson] Stirling was groundless; was mortified that "so able a man" wrote "with such loathing contempt of me"; has not seen [Ralph Waldo] Emerson; hears that Emerson is charming, but probably does not have much in common with him; "During the last 2 or 3 years we have seen several Yankees, & as a rule they seem a most pleasant set"; was charmed with the Nortons [Charles Eliot Norton and his wife Susan Ridley Sedgwick Norton]; has recommended "Tappy's chickens" to CD's hosts.2

Note: 1. CD went to Leith Hill Place from June 4 to 12; see "Darwin's Journal," 19.
2. Anne J. Cupples, Tappy's Chicks and Other Links between Nature and Human Nature... (London: Strahan & Co., 1872). Anne J. Cupples was the wife of corr.

429. To Dr. [Edward Wickstead] LANE; Down (type 6) 1873 June 23. L (postscript in CD's hand); 8 x5; 3p. (mutilated) B D25.241

Thanks for copy of Lane's little book [Old Medicine and New (London: 1873)]; will read it soon; owes much to hydropathy, even though it seemed to do harm the last time it was tried; had a pleasant time whenever visiting Moor Park; regards to wife and to "Lady Drysdale [Lane's mother-in-law]".1

Note: 1. See Emma Darwin, II, 184.

430. To?; Down (type 6) [1873]1 July 18th ALS; 8 x5; 1p. B D25.154

Is not anatomist enought to say whether corr.'s power is very unusual; moving of the scalp voluntarily is not very important, unless very extreme and inherited.

Note: 1. Year written in pencil upon original in unknown hand.

431. To [a chemist, but not Hopkin & Williams]; Down (type 6) [1873]1 Sept 5th ALS; 8.5 x5; 2p. B D25.90

Thinks chlorides, instead of nitrates, of the various metals would be better for CD's purpose, but only when such are soluble; "But it is perhaps too late & nitrates wd. do very well, & are necessary in the case of silver"; send bottle of "Oxley's Essence of Ginger"; send four acids when ready, since CD wants to try them before the metallic salts; send the latter in two lots if it takes long to prepare them.

Note: 1. Date and recipient suggested by Sydney Smith, St. Catharine's College, Cambridge University. This letter follows one dated the previous day, the original of which is now in possession of Baird & Tatlock (London) Ltd., incorporating Hopkin & Williams; copy on file at APS, courtesy of Baird & Tatlock.

432. To [Charles] LYELL; Down (type 6) 1873 Sep. 24. LS; 8 x5; 4p. B D25.L

Thanks for note and for apples, received "only today, as they were directed to Beckenham instead of to Orpington Station"; seedlings from same parent are "wonderfully alike in fruit and leaves; forgets what [Joseph Dalton] Hooker says; reversions to crab-state are exceptional;1 wild crabs themselves differ much; see Darwin, Variation under Domestication [(1868)], I, 350, and II, 31; inneritance is not as general with apple trees as Wood thinks;2 no one has raised a new Ribstone or Golden Pippen,3 although seedling by [Thomas] Andrew Knight approaches latter; Wood's most remarkable statement is about sterility of seedlings, since they are several years old;4 it is remarkable that parent trees were not intercrossed, since many flowered simultaneously; if bees carry pollen between trees, then pollen of above-named varieties is prepotent over others, so they have the character of species; would like to fertilize flowers of Hawthornden with pollen from many distinct varieties and to compare resulting seedlings; is ill, under care of [Andrew] Clark; invites Lyell to Down.

Note: 1. Lyell has written in pencil in margin here: "This is my contention".
2. See letter to Lyell dated June 1, 1872, above.
3. Lyell has written here: "but how has the failure occurred. probably from sterility or want of vitality".
4. Lyell has written here: "(14th year from the first sown)".

433. To [A. MOSCHKAU]; Down (type 6) 1873 Dec 19. LS; 8 x5; 2p. (enclosure wanting) B D25.180

Thanks for letter; returns the enclosed; has alluded to parrots speaking in Darwin, Descent of Man [(1871)];1 in new edition, has added good evidence that they understand the words used; will add, on corr.'s authority, the case of the starling; is ill and overwhelmed with letters, so cannot correspond with anyone.

Note: 1. See Darwin, Descent of Man (1871), I, 236; and II, 335.

434. To A. [G.] DEW-SMITH; Down (type 6) [?1873-1875]1 Oct 19th ALS; 8 x5; 4p. and env., add. [A. Dew Smith Esqr--/ 24. Green St/ Cambridge] B D25.225

Son is going to Cambridge tomorrow; takes opportunity to send specimen of Dionaea so corr. can observe changes in temperature in plant when it is in action; gives instructions to assure proper measurement; wishes plant were a better specimen, "but I have given away all by best specimens for [John Scott] B[urdon-] Sanderson's electrical experiments, which have proved so wonderful."2

Note: 1. Down address variant used determines limits of 1871 and 1875. Fact that address is printed in center of page upon paper having a distinctive escutcheon watermark eliminates 1871 and 1872.
2. See Darwin, Insectivorous Plants (1875), 318.

435. To [James Philip Mansel WEALE]; Down (type 7) 1874 Jan 8th LS; 9 x8.25 1p. B D25.252

What proportion of leaves of Pinguicola [sic; Pinguicula] have insects adhering to them; send leaves having captured insects, so CD can identify insects caught; observe how secretions from captured insects flow around leaf; do leaves ever capture seeds; if so, send specimens; describe habitat, esp. nearby vegetation, for Pinguicula vulgaris.

436. To Dr. [Andrew] CLARK; 6 Queen Anne St [1874]1 Jan 10 LS; 7 x4.5 2p. B D25.182

Has just come to London; please call and see CD.

Note: 1. Date determined by Sydney Smith, St. Catharine's College, Cambridge University.

437. To?O.P.L.; Down (type 7) [1874 ca. February 20] [end. Recd on 20th Febry 1874] ALS; 9 x7.25 4p., end. [Recd. on 20th Febry 1874. O.P.L.] B D25.135

Thanks for reference, which CD had lost and is delighted to recover and to quote; will discuss point mooted in corr.'s letter; all organs necessary for reproduction are attributed to natural selection; sexual selection occurs only when advantage is gained by struggle between two or more individuals of same sex; males vary more than females; corr. may consider this a result of masculine " `vital force' ", but CD prefers to speak of it as mere variability; this variability does not account for well-marked sexual differences unless variations are accumulated; when sexes are alike, there is no evidence of sexual selection, unless two sexes closely resemble one sex of closely allied form in which sexes differ; if sexes differ much in color, esp. if male is more brilliant, then brightness of male is probably due to sexual selection; evidence of action of sexual selection is only good if one sex displays its colors to the other; individual would not display colors unless this were an advantage, and if it is advantage, this is basis for sexual selection; corr. probably does not think stridulatory organs of insects result from vital force; if such organs result from sexual selection, why not color; [Giovanni] Canestrini says in recent Italian paper that female spiders select a mate from among many males; collected spiders during voyage of Beagle and deposited them in British Museum.

438. To [Alfred William BENNETT]1; Down (type 6) [1874]1 March 11 ALS; 8 x5; 1p. B D25.137

Has just heard that corr. has ceased to assist editor of Nature; where are wood blocks of climbing plants, which belong to Linnean Society;2 must borrow them before long, and they might get mislaid at Macmillan's.

Note: 1. For year and recipient of this letter, see: A. J. Meadows, Science and Controversy: A Biography of Sir Norman Lockyer (Cambridge, Mass.: The M.I.T. Press, 1972), 31-32; and DNB, second supplement, 1, 143-44.
2. CD refers to the thirteen illustrations for Darwin, Climbing Plants (1865).

439. To [John] PHILLIPS; Down (type 7) (black border)1 [1874]1 Mar 31 [wmk. 1868] LS; 7 x4.5 2p. B D25.123 #4

Thanks for invitation, but journey to Oxford would "nearly annihilate" CD; corr.'s sketches indicate only a big theory would equal corr.'s fossils;1 will watch for published account; remembers pleasant hours spent with corr. at York.1

Note: 1. This letter is, apparently, a reply to a letter to CD dated March 14, 1874, which is located in the Robin Darwin Deposit, University Library, Cambridge; the earlier letter contains sketches. The black border may result from death of CD's wife's sister-in-law, Frances Mosley Wedgwood; see Emma Darwin, I, xxvii. The trip to York was in 1845; see Life and Letters I, 343-44. Information provided by Sydney Smith, St. Catharine's College, Cambridge University.

440. To?; Down (type 6) [1874] Ap. 13th [end. 1874/ April 16] ALS; 8 x5; 1p. and end. [1874/ Ch. Darwin Esq/ Down/ April 16] (enclosure wanting) B D25.83

Encloses check; wants the "Flora" (German), for the year 1873, numbers 28 and 29; will accept entire volume if necessary.

441. To Leonard RUDD; Down (type 6) [1874] Ap. 18th [pmk. AP18/ 74] ALS; 8 x5; 1p. and fragment of env., add. [Leonard Rudd Esq/ Guy's Hospital/ London/ S.E.] B D25.159

Thanks for case of additional mammae; abnormality of this sort is not rare; that mammae enlarge every month is quite new, but does not understand its meaning; this does not occur commonly with women.

442. To [Charles] LYELL; Down (type 6) [1874]1 May 31st ALS; 8 x5; 1p. B D25.L

Thanks for note and that of [George Julius Poulett] Scrope; "What you have done1 may be the first step in an admirable plan"; thinks bequest shows wisdom and would do same, if CD had fewer sons; enjoyed Lyell's visit to Down; is glad Lyell sent [Anton Felix] Dohrn's paper to Scrope.

Note: 1. Lyell was bequeathing a large sum to science; see Life of Lyell, II, 477-78. Year determined from this information.

443. To?; Down (type 6) [1874] July 13th ALS; 8 x5; 2p. B D25.144

Utricularia arrived safely; was unwell, so son [?Francis Darwin] took charge of specimens and worked at bladders; it will be difficult to make out the function of parts; will his great experience on Desmids under the microscope, corr. knows that one's brain must be clear and hand steady to do anything on difficult structures.

444. To [George John ROMANES]; Down (type 6) 1874 July 16 LS; 8 x5; 4p. B D25.N

Printed in full, with changes: More Letters, I, 354 (letter 264). line 1, change "your kind and long communication" to "the copy of your long letter".1 line 4, change "much" to "at present". lines 7/8, change "some later time, when I may again take up the subject. Your letter" to "a future time. It". line 11, change "through so-called" to "through mere so-called". line 16, illegible word is "severe".

Note: 1. For long letter from Romanes, see More Letters, I, 352-54 (letter 263).

445. To [Bartholomew] PRICE; Abinger Hall/ Wotton/ Surrey1 [1874 July]1 27th ALS; 8 x5; 2p. B D25.54

Thanks for specimen of Utricularia, which CD presumes is from corr.; obtained microscope at Abinger, concludes that there is essential similarity [between specimen received and some other specimens], but with some important differences; five of the largest bladders contained dead Entomostraca: 24, 20, 15, 10, and 7 victims respectively; "What slaughter!"; leaves on Thursday [July 30] for three weeks at house of son [William Erasmus Darwin] at Bassett, Southampton.

Note: 1. Down address variant, type 6, has been crossed out. Date for letter determined by Abinger address; see "Darwin's Journal," 19-21.

446. To [George John ROMANES]; Abinger Hall/ Wotton. Surrey (Post Town)/ Gomshall (Station) S.E.R. [embossed]1 [1874]1 July 28th ALS; 7 x4.5 1p. B D25.N

Thanks for letters; "I have so poor a metaphysical head that Mr [Herbert] Spencer's terms of equilibration &c always bother me & make everything less clear".

Note: 1. Year determined by Abinger address; see "Darwin's Journal," 19-21.

447. To?; Bassett/ Southampton.1 [1874]1 Aug. 7th ALS; 8 x5; 1p. (mutilated) B D25.119

Is glad hop interests corr.; numerous almost small angular bodies, which CD imagined to be ovules, are worth corr.'s attention; would be proud to appear in an engraving in Gardeners' Chron.; is taking a three-week rest.

Note: 1. Year determined by Bassett address. Only year in which CD was there on August 7 was 1874; see "Darwin's Journal," 19. Down address variant, type 6, is crossed out.

448. To [Charles] LYELL; Down (type 6) [1874] Sept. 3d ALS; 8 x5; 4p. B D25.L

Printed in full, with minor changes: More Letters, II, 237-38 (letter 571).

449. To Lady Dorothy [Fanny Walpole] NEVILL; Down (type 6) 1874 Sep 7. LS; 8 x5; 3p. B D25.7

Thanks for Drosera plant; does corr. have specimen of epiphytic Utricularia, which produces minute bladders only when making fresh shoots or leaves?

450. To [Charles] LYELL; Down (type 6) 1874 Sep 23. LS (postscript in CD's hand); 8 x5; 3p. B D25.L

Printed, with minor changes: Life and Letters III, 190. line 14, missing sentence is: "I have just begun Mr [Thomas Francis] Jamieson's paper,1 which seems to me very interesting & I shd think true." At end of letter is: [Robert] Mallet will not like to hear of palaeozoic true sub-aerial explosive volcanoes.

Note: 1. "On the Last Stage of the Glacial Period in North Britain," Q. Jl. geol. Soc. Lond., 30 (1874): 317-38.

451. To [?James Crichton BROWNE]1; Down (type 6) 1874 Oct. 8th ALS; 8 x5; 1p. B D25.266

Thanks for West Riding Asylum Report; notes excellent article and photograph by corr.1

Note: 1. Browne was director of the West Riding Pauper Lunatic Asylum in Yorkshire and editor of the Medical Reports of the West Riding Lunatic Asylum. CD owned at least volumes 1, 2, and 5; see Darwin Library: List of Books Received in the University Library, Cambridge, March-May 1961 (Cambridge: University Library, Cambridge, 1961), under "West Riding".

452. To [Daniel] OLIVER; Down (type 6) 1874 Oct 14th LS; 8 x5; 2p. B D25.88

Thanks for aid and information; plants arrived safe; will set to work in two days and will then return them; thank [Joseph Dalton] Hooker when he returns.

453. To [George John ROMANES]; 2 Bryanston St/ Portman St1 [?1874 December 7]1 Monday night ALS; 8 x5; 1p. B D25.N

Would like to meet corr.; planned to visit Brown Institution; come for lunch on Wednesday.

Note: 1. Down address variant, type 8, is crossed out. According to "Darwin's Journal," 19-21, there were eleven weeks in which CD was at Bryanston Street address on both Monday and Wednesday, between 1873 (first possible year of correspondence with Romanes) and 1882 (year of CD's death). Type 8 address variant was not employed until at least late 1874. CD begins greeting Romanes by name in salutations to letters on December 16, 1874, but this letter begins with "My dear sir". Letter is thus dated with the only candidate Monday in late 1874, namely December 7. This may indicate first use of type 8 variant.

454. To [George John ROMANES]; 2. Bryanston St1 [?1874 December 9]1 Wednesday evening ALS; 8 x5; 1p. B D25.N

Wants corr. to call tomorrow morning; hopes to be well then.

Note: 1. Down address variant, type 8, is crossed out. This letter appears to follow after the preceding letter, above. In this letter, CD still greets Romanes formally in the saluation.

455. To [George John] ROMANES; Down. 1874 Dec 16th LS (postscript in CD's hand); 9 x7.25 4p. B D25.N

Thanks for Romanes's book [?Christian Prayer and General Laws... (London: 1874)]; already has copy from Macmillan; diagram is excellent, as is reasoning; must think over subject; Romanes must show advantage of longevity; diagram may apply to sterility of distinct species, although CD has argued elsewhere [Variation under Domestication (1868), II, 185-89] that intersterility is incidentally acquired; glad Romanes is taking up pangenesis; vine with digitate leaves is good for graft-hybrids; asked [Thomas Henry] Farrer's gardener to raise such a plant; read Variation under Domestication, I, 395, on vines; facts are from [Carl Friedrich von] Gärtner's [Versuche und Beobachtungen über die] Bastarderzeugung [im Pflanzenreich (Stuttgart: K. F. Hering, 1849), 619f.]; does not have [?H. Adorne de] [Tscharner's?] or [Georg Heinrich] Ritter's book; Horticultural Society, Royal Society, and Linnean Society have good libraries in scientific horticulture; plants will serve better than animals; suggests hyacinths, dahlias, crocuses, potato, and beet for graft-hybrid experiments, but disclaims expertise; would consult [Joseph Dalton] Hooker, but wife [Frances Harriet Henslow Hooker] just died; will find consultant at Kew Gardens; Romanes should prepare for "endless disappointments, as your first experiments will merely serve to teach you what ultimately must be done"; may have seen account of successful grafts of two colored beets; "It wd. be very difficult to get people to see vast importance of graft-hybrids, as throwing light on sexual generation."

456. To [George John] ROMANES; Down (type 8) 1874 Dec 23. LS; 8 x5; 1p. (enclosure wanting) B D25.N

As enclosed shows, [Joseph Dalton] Hooker wishes to help Romanes, so call at Kew soon.1

Note: 1. See preceding letter, above. Romanes had visited Hooker by January 14, 1875; see Life of Romanes, 19-20.

457. To [George John] ROMANES; Down (type 8) 1874 Dec 27th LS; 8 x5; 2p. B D25.N

Is glad the letter from [Joseph Dalton] Hooker pleases Romanes;1 Hooker is "the best & kindest man I have ever known"; grafting of ears of rabbits would be almost impossible, since rabbits would not remain quiet afterwards; supposes Romanes will use chloroform; comb of fowl, especially Spanish breed, is strongly inherited and thus well fitted for experiment; supposes birds could be chloroformed.

Note: 1. See preceding letter, above.

458. To [William Bernhard] TEGETMEIER; no location [ca. 1874]1 Printed form letter, with autograph insertions, S; 8 x5; 3p., add. [Mr. Tegetmeier,/ 346, Strand,/ London, W.C.] B D25.24

Orders Boddaert's Table des Planches Enluminees.

Note: 1. Date determined by Sydney Smith, St. Catharine's College, Cambridge University. A letter from CD to Tegetmeier dated April 5, 1874, on deposit at New York Botanical Gardens, begins with "Many thanks for Boddart."

459. To [?William] MARSHALL; Down (type 9) [ca. 1874-1879]1 Nov. 4th ALS; 8 x5; 1p. B D25.65

Miserable summer caused acorns to drop off cork tree; will consult J[oseph Dalton] Hooker to see whether Quercus rubra or Q. coccinea is handsomer and will have one sent to corr. "for my own honour & glory."

Note: 1. Down address variant used determines absolute endpoints of 1874 and 1882. CD died in April, 1882. CD's handwriting became decidedly shakier in 1880, and this letter is in a steady hand.

460. To [William O.] OGLE; Bryanston St--Portman St1 [ca. 1874-1880]1 Friday ALS; 8 x5; 1p. B D25.60

Called on Ogle in morning, but he was out; invites corr. to lunch on Sunday.

Note: 1. Down address variant, type 8, is crossed out. This letter is written in steady hand; shaky hand began sometime in 1880.

461. To [George John] ROMANES; Down (type 8) [1875]1 Jan 13th LS; 8 x5; 1p. B D25.N

Has received German journal from Berlin containing several accounts of graft-hybrids produced not by splicing but by inserting bud of one potato tuber into another kind of tuber; results are clear and are compared with sexual generation; offers journal from Germany to Romanes.

Note: 1. For Romanes's reply, see Life of Romanes, 19-20.

462. To [A. G. DEW-SMITH]; Down (type 8) 1875 Jan 19th LS; 8 x5; 2p. B D25.227

Thanks for letter with account of Zoological Station in Naples; tell [Michael] Foster to publish [Anton] Dohrn's letter and circular as they stand; publish list of donors and amounts subscribed; remembers disappointment in past when he subscribed to something and then did not hear any news of the project's success.

463. To Lady Dorothy [Fanny Walpole] NEVILL; Down (type 8) 1875 Feb. 15 LS; 8 x5; 2p. B D25.8

Thanks for note; will not be in London until late spring [actually, March 31]; is busy on Insectivorous Plants [(1875)]; just acknowledged corr.'s aid in chapter on Utricularia [page 431], proofed in morning.

464. To?; Down (type 8) 1875 March 7 LS; 8 x5; 1p. B D25.153

Thinks corr. wrote article on CD in Gardeners' Chron.; thanks for the honor.

465. To [George John] ROMANES; 2 Bryanston St.1 [1875]1 Ap. 7th ALS; 8 x5; 3p. B D25.N

[Thomas Henry] Farrer's gardener has cut-leaved vines almost ready;2 will send them to Romanes in Scotland; [Thomas Henry] Huxley and Lawson Tait will be at Down on 18th; invites Romanes to come to meet them on Saturday the 17th; do not discuss experiments on animals before Darwin women, since it would horrify them.

Note: 1. Down variant address, type 8, is crossed out on top, and a little hand is drawn in which points to the lower half of the printed address. The only year in which CD was at Bryanston Street on April 7 was 1875; see "Darwin's Journal," esp. 19. In addition, April 17, 1875, was a Saturday.
2. See letter to Romanes, December 16, 1874, above.

466. To J[ohn] Jenner WEIR; no location [1875 May 2] [pmk. MY2/ 75] [Filed with #302] Address leaf only; address reads: "J. Jenner Weir/ Blackheath". B D25.208

467. To [James] PAGET; Down (type 8) 1875 May 3 LS; 8 x5; 1p. B D25.229

Thanks for lectures [Paget, Clinical Lectures and Essays..., ed. by H. Marsh (London: 1875)]; vivisection question goes on as well as could be desired.

468. To?; Down (type 8) 1875 May 19th ALS; 8 x5; 1p. B D25.142

Has had letter from Prof. [August] Weismann, who is interested in corr.'s experiments on birds not eating gaudy caterpillars; has corr. published more lince papers in Entomological Transactions; does corr. know of any others working on this subject, such as [Charles Valentine] Riley of United States; Riley is probably the best.

469. To?; Down (type 8) 1875 May 29 LS; 8 x5; 2p. B D25.172

Thanks for paper on ostrich feathers; sends ostrich feather just received from President of Transvaal.

470. To Fritz SCHULTZE; Down (type 8) [1875]1 June 14th ALS; 8 x5; 2p. and add. [An Prof. Dr. Fritz Schultze/ Dresden-(Planen?)/ Reisewitzerstrasse St. (sic)] B D25.89

Thanks for letter and book [Kant und Darwin... (Jena: 1875)]; is honored to be coupled with "the illustrious [Immanuel] Kant"; reads German poorly; give CD's regards to [Ernst Heinrich Philipp August] Hackel [i.e. Haeckel] and thank him for note.

Note: 1. Year determined from publication date of corr.'s book.

471. To [George John] ROMANES; Down (type 8) [1875] July 12th ALS; 8 x5; 4p. B D25.N

Printed in full, with minor changes: More Letters, I, 359-60 (letter 270). p. 359, line 14, change "gave" to "saw".
Also printed in full, with minor changes: Life of Romanes, 38-39.

472. To [George John] ROMANES; Down (type 8) 1875 July 18 LS; 8 x5; 3p. B D25.N

Printed in full, with minor changes: Life of Romanes, 32.

473. To Mrs. DOWIE; Down (type 8) [1875] August 15th ALS; 8 x5; 3p. B D25.39

Thanks for note, but [James] Paget says all amputated digits, not just supernumerary ones, tend to regrow a little in the young; must correct erroneous statement; owes correction to corr. and to Paget.

474. To [George John] ROMANES; Basset Southampton [1875 September]1 11th ALS; 7 x4.5 1p. B D25.N

The Huxleys [Thomas Henry Huxley and his wife, Henrietta Anne Heathorn Huxley] come to Down on 18th for the Sunday; invites Romanes to meet them and the Litchfields [Richard Buckley Litchfield and his wife, Henrietta Emma Darwin Litchfield]; Frank [i.e. Francis Darwin] may or may not have returned by then.

Note: 1. Only twice (on May 11, 1878, and on September 11, 1875) was CD at Bassett on the eleventh of the month and then back at Down the following eighteenth, a Saturday. The earlier date is preferred because Romanes had not yet met the Huxleys at time this letter was written. See "Darwin's Journal," 19-21.

475. To Dr. S. NEWINGTON; Down (type 8) (last two lines crossed out) 1875 Sep 17. LS; 7.5 x4 3/4; 3p. B D25.36

Thanks for letter of September 2, explaining about vines; thinks Madresfield vine was a sport of the Hamburgh and reverted to it after being in-arched; has not yet received specimen of berries; had not heard of corr.'s observation of roots secreting carbonic acid, discovered by Dr. N. 25 years since and at first denied by [John] Lindley; Prof. Lacho has proved this by growing plants in polished marble pots; returns J[ohn] Herschel's letter; observations on coincidence of pulse and step are new to CD.

476. To [George John] ROMANES; Down (type 9) (next to last line crossed out) [1875] Sept. 24th ALS; 8 x5; 4p. B D25.N

Printed, with minor changes and minor omissions: Life of Romanes, 34. At end of letter is: is glad about corr.'s success with medusae.1

Note: 1. See Romanes, "Preliminary Observations on the Locomotor System of Medusae," Phil. Trans. R. Soc., 166 (1876): 269-313.

477. To [George John] ROMANES; Down (type 8) (last two lines crossed out) 1875 Oct 8. LS; 8 x5; 6p. B D25.N

Despatched certificate [proposing Romanes for election to Linnean Society]1 to Kew, but it has not returned; will keep it for [Thomas Henry] Huxley's signature when latter visits Down in eight days; potatoes arrived yesterday;1 on basis of accounts by Germans, thinks two lots are hybridized; inspect large numbers of parent tubers for signs of hybrid mottling; give quantitative data on number inspected; Romanes, rather than CD, should plant the hybrids; does not know rate of reversion to pure forms; no account of same has been published; should potatoes be sent to Scotland;1 is sorry about onions, "as the nature of seminal hybrids would be so absolutely new";1 thanks for drawing of striped horse, but subject is finished.2

Note: 1. On election, potatoes, Scotland address, and onions, see Life of Romanes, 13, 15, 34-38, and 40-41.
2. See Darwin, Variation under Domestication (1875), I, 58-63; and II, 343. This edition was sent to printers on October 3, 1875; see "Darwin's Journal," 20.

478. To [George John] ROMANES; 6 Q. Anne St. [1875 November 4]1 Thursday 8th [sic] ALS; 7 x4.5 4p. B D25.N

Came to London yesterday to be examined by Vivisection Commission, but returns to Down today; hopes to receive carrots soon; plants will not seed during winter, so wait until spring; mere diffusion of color from side to side [in graft-hybrid carrots] is not important; wants to see if seed yields white and red or mottled carrots; wants seeds of pure forms for control group; saw [James Scott] B[urdon-]Sanderson, who is first to comprehend physiological importance of proving graft-hybrids; latter told CD about medusas; corr.'s papers in Nature, esp. the last,2 are curious and amusing; part about ferrets was funny and important; it is too late about sternums, but has added a note;3 will notify Romanes upon receipt of carrots.4

Note: 1. The "8" written by CD is incorrect. CD testified before the Vivisection Commission on November 3, 1875; see Great Britain, Parliament, Sessional Papers, 1876, v. 41, "Report of the Royal Commission on the Practice of Subjecting Live Animals to Experiments for Scientific Purposes, with Minutes of the Evidence Presented to the Commission," [Cd. 1397], 233-34. Jeffrey L. Sturchio of the University of Pennsylvania provided this reference. For further evidence, this is a reply to letter printed in Life of Romanes, 42-45, and a sort of postscript to this letter is abstracted below.
2. "Instinct and Acquisition," Nature, Lond., 12 (1875): 553-54.
3. See: Life of Romanes, 44; and Darwin, Variation under Domestication (1875), I, 288.
4. See subsequent letter, below.

479. To [George John] ROMANES; Down (type 8) 1875 Nov 4. LS; 8 x5; 2p. B D25.N

Sends postscript to letter sent in morning; carrots have arrived; has potted them and put them in greenhouse because they are so small.

480. To Secretary Royal Socy [George Gabriel STOKES]; Down (type 8) 1875 Nov. 27th ALS; 8 x5; 1p. (enclosure wanting) B D25.230

Submits enclosed paper by [Robert] Lawson Tait.

481. To [George John] ROMANES; 2. Bryanston St1 [1875 December]1 17th ALS; 8 x5; 2p. B D25.N

If skins of birds can be transplanted easily, experiment on spots and barbs by transplanting bit of skin of blue-feathered pigeon; pigeons are easily kept; has been successful in canvassing for [Edwin] Ray Lankester and has excited indignation about his case; returns to Down on Monday; hopes corr.'s paper went off well last night;2 thinks it a grand discovery.

Note: 1. Only time CD was at Bryanston Street on a 17th and returned to Down on Monday was during December of 1875. Down address variant, type 8, is crossed out.
2. Romanes, "Preliminary Observations on the Locomotor System of Medusae [the Croonian Lecture, read December 16, 1875]," Phil. Trans. R. Soc., 166 (1876): 269-313.

482. To [George John] ROMANES; Down (type 8) 1875 Dec 26. LS (postscript in CD's hand); 8 x5; 3p. B D25.N

Printed in full, with minor changes: Life of Romanes, 47-48.

483. To?; Down (type 8) (last two lines crossed out) 1875 Dec 26 LS; 8 x5; 1p. (enclosure wanting) B D25.116

Sorry for "so soon troubling you again"; encloses list of errata for Darwin, Insectivorous Plants [(1875)] detected by [Julius] Victor Carus in course of translating; forward them to French translator.

484. To [George John] ROMANES; 6 Q. Anne St.1 [ca. 1875-1879]1 Sunday Evening ALS; 8 x5; 1p. B D25.N

Will call on Romanes early on Tuesday morning; goes to Kew tomorrow.

Note: 1. Down address variant, type 8, is crossed out. During the period during which this letterhead was used, there were only six occasions when CD was at Queen Anne Street on both Sunday and Tuesday; the earliest of these is April 4, 1875, and the latest is December 7, 1879. See "Darwin's Journal," 19-21.

485. To [William O. OGLE]; Down (type 8) 1876 Feb. 15 LS; 8 x5; 1p. B D25.61

Thanks for book not yet received; send it to 6 Queen Anne St., Cavendish Square; will read it sometime in future.

486. To H[enr]y EDWARDS, Jr.; Down (type 8) [1876 March 1?]1 [pmk. MAR/24] ALS; 8 x5; 2p. and fragment of env., add. [Hy. Edwards Esqr/ San. Francisco/ California/ U. States] B D25.9

Had received photograph and paper, but was overwhelmed with letters; read corr.'s discussion of Prof. [August Friedrich Leopold] Weissmann's views on dimorphism in butterflies; glad corr. approved of Weissmann's essay, which struck CD much.

Note: 1. This date is written on original in ink, in an unknown hand.

487. To [George John] ROMANES; Down (type 8) 1876 Ap. 14. LS; 8 x5; 1p. B D25.N

Will probably receive the paper tomorrow;1 goes to London on 20th;2 will call upon corr. shortly thereafter.

Note: 1. Probably "An Account of Some New Species, Varieties, and Monstrous Forms of Medusae," J. Linn. Soc. (Zoology), 12 (1876): 524-31.
2. CD was in London April 27 to May 3, 1876; see "Darwin's Journal," 20.

488. To G[eorge] J[ohn] ROMANES; Down, Beckenham. [1876] Apl. 26th [pmk. AP26/ 76] AN on p.c.; 3 x4 3/4; 1p. and add. [G. H. (sic) Romanes Esqr/ 18. Cornwall Terrace/ Regents Park/ London.N.W] B D25.N

Cannot go to London today; has just received corr.'s note; will tell no one; hopes to be well enough to go to London tomorrow; will call upon corr.

489. To G[eorge] J[ohn] ROMANES; 6. Queen Anne St. ("Down, Beckenham." is crossed out) [1876] Ap. 27th [pmk. AP27/ 76] ANS on p.c.; 3 x4 3/4; 1p. and add. [G. H. (sic) Romanes Esqr/ 18. Cornwall Terrace/ Regents Park.--] B D25.N

Hopes to call upon corr. tomorrow morning.

490. To [George John] ROMANES; 6. Queen Anne St1 [1876] Ap 29th ALS; 7 x4.5 1p. B D25.N

Printed in full, with minor changes: Life of Romanes, 45.

Note: 1. Down address variant, type 8, is crossed out.

491. To [August Wilhelm von HOFMANN]; Down (type 8) 1876 May 3 LS; 8 x5; 1p. B D25.66

Thanks for corr.'s work on [Justus] Liebig; glad corr. has not forgotten CD.

492. To?; Down (type 8) (last two lines are crossed out) 1876 May 10. LS; 8 x5; 2p. B D25.248

Thanks for letter; will send sheets of new book [Cross and Self Fertilisation (1876)] before index is printed, as requested by corr.; this will not occur until October; is glad about newspaper and about twenty able collaborators.

493. To [George John] ROMANES; H. Wedgwoods Esq/ Hopedene/ Dorking1 [1876] May 29th. ALS; 8 x5; 6p. B D25.N

First portion printed in full, with minor changes: More Letters, I, 363-65 (letter 275).
Next portion printed in full, with minor changes and with some overlap with previous portion: Life of Romanes, 49-50.
Small and redundant portion printed: Life and Letters III, 204.

Note: 1. Down address variant, type 8, is crossed out.

494. To [George John] ROMANES; Down (type 8) [1876] June 4th ALS; 8 x5; 4p. B D25.N

Printed, with minor changes and minor omissions: Life of Romanes, 60-61.

495. To [George John] ROMANES; no location [1876 ca. June 15]1 A postscript, S by init.; 9 x7.25 4p., sketch B D25.N

Romanes asks about Frank's [i.e. Francis Darwin's] discovery,2 "but if I were like you in constant communication with spirits, I shd. not care even for a jelly-fish, & this is the strongest simile I can apply to you";3 do not mention Frank's work until confirmed; Frank finds that leaves of teazle or Dipsacus have protoplasmic filaments extending from glands on footstalks; these filaments are stimulated by carbonate of ammonia or putrid meat and contract on exposure to alcohol; filaments appear to ingest matter; much work must still be done, and Frank is busy with another paper,4 but "I can hardly doubt that we have here a highly organised plant which emits from its cells masses of protoplasm, identical with an amoeba or other Protozoan, for the sake of capturing particles of dead organic matter; & this seems to me a wonderful discovery"; letter by Dr. [Benjamin Ward] Richardson in Nature is capital.5

Note: 1. See note 5, below, for date.
2. See Francis Darwin, "On the Protrusion of Protoplasmic Filaments from the Glandular Hairs of the Common Teasel (Dipsacus sylvestris)," Proc. R. Soc., 26 (1877): 4-8.
3. CD is joking about Romanes's interest in spiritualism; see Life of Romanes, 48-49.
4. "On the Glandular Bodies on Acacia sphaerocephala and Cecropia peltata Serving as Food for Ants...," J. Linn. Soc. (Botany), 15 (1875-1877): 398-409.
5. See Richardson, "Abstract Report to `Nature' on Experimentation on Animals for the Advance of Practical Medicine," Nature, Lond., 14 (1876): 149-52, 170-72, 197-99, 250-52, 289-91, 339-41, and 369-72. Published in the issue for June 15, 1876, and subsequent issues.

496. To?; Down (type 8) [?1876] June 30th ALS; 8 x5; 1p. B D25.49

Has not heard of essay mentioned by corr.; would like copy if it is small and corr. has a spare one; will not answer it, as this takes time.

497. To [George Warde or Ebenezer] NORMAN; Down (type 8) ALFRED M.? [1876] Sept. 15th [end. 1876/ 15 Septr.] ALS; 8 x5; 2p. and end. [1876/ 15 Septr./ Chas. Darwin/ on receipt/ of letter of/ condolence, for/ death of Daughter/ in Law--] B D25.194

Thanks for note; it has been a terrible blow; [Amy Richenda Ruck Darwin] was sweet and gentle; son [Francis Darwin] has gone to North Wales where she was buried yesterday.

498. To [Peter Martin DUNCAN]; Down (type 8) 1876 Sep. 19 LS; 8 x5; 2p. B D25.78

While cleaning out a room, found a fossil coral and a long MS. account of it by [William] Lonsdale; these must have arrived while CD was ill, and they were forgotten; will send them to corr.

499. To [?William] MARSHALL; Down (type 8) 1876 Sep. 19 LS; 8 x5; 2p. B D25.238

Wishes to build a billiard room, with bedroom and dressing room above; wants corr. to undertake the project; come to Down; Horace [Darwin] does not know corr.'s London address; must hurry with project because winter is coming.

500. To [?William] MARSHALL; Down (type 8) [1876]1 Sept. 29th ALS; 8 x5; 1p. B D25.226

Please write to "Mr. Laslett/ Builder/ Farnborough/ Kent." and arrange to meet him at Down House on Tuesday; leaves home [for Leith Hill Place] on Wednesday [October 4], so cannot invite corr. to sleep at Down.1

Note: 1. See preceding letter, above, for year. For departure to Leith Hill, see "Darwin's Journal," 20. Laslett may have been William Emerson Laslett the solicitor.

501. To [?William] MARSHALL; Down (type 8) [1876]1 Nov. 22d ALS; 8 x5; 6p. B D25.255

Accepts Mr. Deards's estimate for the work, as his is cheaper; repay Laslett and [?Thomas Hayter] Lewis for expenses involved in estimates; make trap door to roof out of glass, and put flooring in attic crawl space, so lumber may be stored there; forget Horace [Darwin]'s idea about partition; wants to enlarge window in present hall; wants sealed airspace inside the outer walls.

Note: 1. See preceding letter, above, for date.

502. To W[illiam Erasmus DARWIN]; no location (blue paper) [1876] AL, S by init.; 8 x5; 2p. (enclosure wanting) B D25.256

Send enclosed to Capt. [?James Felix or?Henry M.] Jones; proofs will reach corr. soon; new chapter seven will have to be much corrected by CD;1 does not think much of [Edward Drinker] Cope's essay ["On the Origin of Genera," Proc. Acad. nat. Sci. Philad., 20 (1868): 242-300], read long ago when received; "He writes very obscurely, but is an excellent Naturalist. He looks, following [Jean Louis Rodolphe] Agassiz at a genus as something essentially distinct from a species, which I believe to be quite an error."

Note: 1. CD here refers to Fertilisation of Orchids (1877), which he was readying for publication in 1876. Thus the year for this letter. On the new chapter seven, see page vi of the book.

503. To [George John] ROMANES; Down (type 8) [1877] 1876 (sic) Jan 2.1 LS; 2 8 x5; 3p. B D25.N

Is pleased to propose corr. for Royal Society; will be at 2 Bryanston Street in London on the 6th; will sign certificate then; suggest others, not on the council [of the Royal Society], who might also sign it; [John Scott] Burdon-Sanderson should sign it; is reading corr.'s medusa paper;3 will call on corr. early next week.

Note: 1. CD's amanuensis apparently wrote the wrong year. See subsequent letter, below, and check "Darwin's Journal," 20, to see that CD went to London of January 6, 1877, but not on January 6, 1876.
2. Francis Darwin, CD's amanuensis, penned a short note at end of letter.
3. "Further Observations on the Locomotor System of Medusae," Phil. Trans. R. Soc., 167 (1877): 659-752.

504. To [George John] ROMANES; Down (type 8) 1877 Jan. 4. LS; 8 x5; 1p. B D25.N

From what corr. says, CD will not send certificate [proposing corr. for Royal Society]; will bring blank certificate to London; invites corr. to lunch at 2 Bryanston Street on Monday [January 8]; bring or send certificate.

505. To Howard MILLER; Down (type 8) 1877 Jan. 10th [pmk. JA 10/ 77] ALS; 8 x5; 1p. and env., add. [Howard Miller Esqr/ Elderton/ Armstrong Co./ Pa./ U. States] B D25.112

Thanks for offer, which would be of value to anyone engaged in embryological studies, but CD is not so engaged.

506. To R[?ichar]d [KE.?]; Down (type 8)1 1877 Feb. 15th-- [end. Feb. 16/ 77] ALS; 8 x5; 2p., end. [Books sent & advised/ Feb. 16/ 77 Rd Ke.] B D25.199

Please send Botanische Zeitung for 1857; send [Eugene] Michalet, ["Sur la Floraison des Viola de la Section Nomimium, de l'Oxalis acetosella et du Linaria spuria,"] Bull. Soc. bot. Fr., 7 [(1860):] 465[-70]; and send [Joseph] Duval-Jouve, ["Note sur Quelques Plantes Critiques du Flora monspeliensis de Linné,"] Bull. Soc. bot. Fr., 10 [(1863); 10-20]; send also H[enri Ernest] Baillon, "Sur l'Émission des Tubes Polliniques des Helianthemum," [Adansonia, Recueil Périodique d'Observations Botaniques, 2 (1861):] 56[-59]; send by rail.

Note: 1. Lower half of this printed address is highlighted with a drawn hand pointing to it.

507. To Miss JACOBSON; Down (type 8) 1877 Feb. 25th AL in third person S; 6 x5; 1p. B D25.84

CD accedes to corr.'s request.

508. To [George Henry Kendrick] THWAITES; Down (type 8) 1877 Mar 26 LS; 8 x5; 4p. B D25.TH

Thanks for specimens; sexual differences remind CD of complemental males in cirripedes; hopes [John Obadiah] Westwood will make a paper on subject;1 wonders if specimens play role in fertilization of figs, a subject studied by Dr [Hermann] Crüger in West Indies; has seen account of corr. from Miss [Marianne] North;2 has just examined Oxalis sensitiva specimen sent long ago, and to CD's surprise its flowers are trimorphic and cleistogamic.3

Note: 1. "Descriptions of the Insects Infesting the Seeds of Ficus Sycomorus and Carica," Trans. R. ent. Soc. Lond., 30 (1882): 47-60.
2. See entry for North in DNB; she was in Ceylon in 1876.
3. See Darwin, Different Forms of Flowers (1877), 322-24.

509. To [George John] ROMANES; Down (type 8) [1877]1 April 15th ALS; 8 x5; 5p. B D25.N

Is astonished that corr. was not on list [of newly-elected Fellows of Royal Society]; [Joseph Dalton Hooker], President [of the Royal Society] and others implied that age and position in scientific society (e.g. being a professor) weighed heavily, as did having been proposed many times; youth is a disqualification; Council [of Royal Society] acts honestly; corr.'s work is valuable; connot remember names of fifteen [new Fellows];2 do not withdraw name; offers to re-propose corr. for election.

Note: 1. See letters to Romanes dated January 2 and January 4, 1877, above.
2. For names, see Proc. R. Soc., 26 (1877): 210.

510. To Otto ZACHARIAS; Down (type 8) 1877 April 26th ALS; 8 x5; 3p. and env., add. [Dr. Otto Zacharias/ Red: der Nordsee-Zeitung/ Geestemünde/ Germany] B D25.27

Thanks for anomalous foot of the pig, but CD is not osteologist enough to pass judgment on it; is away from home; will send foot to Prof. [William Henry] Flower at Royal College of Surgeons, who has studied limbs of Ungulata and who is "a most careful & admirable observer"; will send notice if any "remarkable peculiarities" are found.

511. From W[illiam] H[enry] FLOWER; Royal College of Surgeons of England./ Lincoln's Inn. Fields,/ (W.C.) 1877 May 3 ALS 7.25 x4.5 4p. B D25.X1

Thanks for pig's foot; it contains an extra digit, which may be either a reversion or a case of over-development; wants further information about other feet of affected pig and about feet of pig's relatives.1

Note: 1. See preceding letter, above.

512. From W[illiam] H[enry] FLOWER; Royal College of Surgeons of England./ Lincoln's Inn Fields,/ (W.C.) 1877 May 17th ALS; 7.25 x4.5 3p., sketch B D25.X2

Thanks for information about pig's foot in letter of May 10; sends catalog of their teratological series; mentions another pig foot specimen with similar deformity, specimen number 297A; glad corr. will collect similar cases.1

Note: 1. See preceding letter, above. This letter may be to Otto Zacharias, and not to CD, but there is no indication of such on original.

513. To [George John] ROMANES; Down (type 8) 1877 May 23d. ALS; 8 x5; 4p. B D25.N

Thank [Charles] Grant [Blairfindie] Allen for having sent his book [Physiological Aesthetics (London: H. S. King, 1877)]; thanks for letter; "good Heavens what a lot of books there is to read"; had not heard of "rub"--presumably over spontaneous generation--at Royal Society;1 [Thomas Henry] Huxley said [John] Tyndall's work about old germs withstanding boiling was decisive;2 would like to see question settled; Frank's [i.e. Francis Darwin's] paper on teazle has been rejected, to CD's chagrin;3 none of sons can attend corr.'s lecture;4 corr.'s negative results concerning spiritualism please CD, who thinks Williams [the spiritualist] is "a very clever rogue".

Note: 1. See Glenn Vandervliet, Microbiology and the Spontaneous Generation Debate during the 1870's (Lawrence, Kansas: Coronado Press, 1971).
2. See Tyndall, "Further Researches on the Deportment and Vital Resistance of Putrefactive and Infective Organisms...," Proc. R. Soc., 26 (1877): 228-38; and idem, "Further Researches on the Deportment and Vital Persistence of Putrefactive and Infective Organisms...," Phil. Trans. R. Soc., 167 (1877): 149-206.
3. See Francis Darwin, "On the Protrusion of Protoplasmic Filaments from the Glandular Hairs of the Common Teasel (Dipsacus sylvestris)," Q. Jl microsc. Sci., 17 (1877): 169-74 and 245-72. 4. Romanes, "Evolution of Nerves and Nervo-Systems," Not. Proc. Meet. Memb. R. Instn, 8 (1875-1878): 427-48.

514. To [George John] ROMANES; Down (type 8) [1877]1 May 27th ALS; 8 x5; 4p. B D25.N

Thanks for letter; does not know what referees said about Frank's [i.e. Francis Darwin's] paper;1 [Edwin] Ray Lankester and [John Hutton] Balfour have seen [teasel] filaments; latter is sure they are protoplasm; "It is terribly discouraging to a young worker to have his work rejected because the facts are quite new";1 will show corr.'s letter to Frank; will read corr.'s lecture when it appears in Nature;2 deception during seances is wicked and scandalous; will take a month's rest soon [from June 8 to July 4, 1877];3 has read a third of [Charles] Grant [Blairfindie] Allen's book, finding it clever but too "deductive"; Allen neglects effects of habit.1

Note: 1. See preceding letter, above.
2. "Evolution of Nerves and Nervo-Systems," Nature, Lond., 16 (1877): 231-33, 269-71, and 289-93.
3. See "Darwin's Journal," 20.

515. To [George John] ROMANES; Down (type 8) 1877 June 5. LS; 8 x5; 2p. B D25.N

Thought corr. would like the following extract, found by chance, and bearing on effects of habit in passage of nervous force.1

Note: 1. See Jean Lamarck, Philosophie Zoologique, 2v. (Paris: Baillière, 1830), II, 318, paragraph beginning: "Dans toute action, le fluide...."

516. To [George John] ROMANES; "My address will be/ `Bassett, Southampton.' "1 [1877] June 11th. ALS; 8 x5; 4p. B D25.N

Printed in full, with minor changes: More Letters, I, 367-68 (letter 279). p. 367, line 7, change "purchases" to "preserves".

Note: 1. Down address variant, type 8, is crossed out. Also crossed out is "Leith Hill Place".

517. To [Rudolf August Birminghold LUDWIG]1; Down (type 8) [1877 July 16th]1 LS; 8 x5; 2p. B D25.186

Received letter and essay dedicated to CD, dated July 4, only today;2 it is interesting to discover in ancient forms any characters now present in distinct species or subgroups, and Crocodilus Darwinii is excellent illustration of this.

Note: 1. Pencil note on third page reads: "addressed Herrn Rudolphe Ludwig/ Waldstrasse 49/ Darmstadt/ July 16th 1877".
2. See Rudolf Ludwig, Fossile Crocodiliden aus der Tertiärformation des Mainzer Beckens... (Cassell, 1877).

518. To [George John] ROMANES; Down (type 8) [1877] Augt. 9th ALS; 8 x5; 6p. B D25.N

Printed in full, with minor changes: Life of Romanes, 56-57. p. 57, line 4, change "half of the botanists" to "half-a-score of Botanists". Also printed, with changes: More Letters, II, 406-07 (letter 731).

519. To [George John] ROMANES; Down (type 8) [1877] Aug. 10th ALS; 8 x5; 3p. B D25.N

Printed in full, with minor changes: Life of Romanes, 62-63. Printed, with minor changes and minor omissions: More Letters, II, 407-08 (letter 733). p. 407, line 1, cha