To J. D. Hooker 25 March [1874]1
Down, | Beckenham, Kent.
March 25
My dear Hooker
I am glad to hear about the Hedychium, & how soon you have got an answer!2 I hope that the wings of the Sphinx will hereafter prove to be bedawbed with pollen, for the case will then prove a fine bit of prophecy from the structure of a flower to special & new means of fertilisation.3 By the way I suppose you have noticed what a grand appearance the plant makes when the green capsules open, & display the orange & crimson seeds & interior, so as to attract birds, like the pale buff flowers to attract dusk-flying Lepidoptera. I presume you do not want seeds of this plant, as I have plenty from artificial fertilisation.—
I have been working so hard at that accursed Descent of Man,4 that I have done nothing & read nothing,—not even H. Spencer’s answer. George says that he does not think that H. S. has answered all Molton’s objection on physical grounds, & he cannot judge on other points.5 I have not yet read Croll, & have heard nothing about Carter & the Eoozoon.6 I infer that Eoozoon is done for: good Heavens how difficult it is to know what to believe! Belt I have read, & I am delighted that you like it so much.7 It appears to me the best of all the Nat. Hist. Journals which have ever been published. I have written to Fritz Müller to tell him to observe the leaf-carrying ants, & the mould generated on the chopped leaves: by opening the stomachs of the larvæ, he could soon make out the nature of their food.8
I hope to finish Descent in about ten days & then after a little rest I hope to resume Drosera & glaucous leaves.—9 I am now trying a lot of plants, divided into 2 lots; one of which I am feeding with meat & the other not. Half a century ago the nurseryman Knight said the same thing as Lady Dorothy’s gardener about Dionæa.10 B. Sanderson is going to lecture about Dionæa at R. Institution in May, & I have sent him my M.S, for him to be able to say a little about the general habits of the plants.—11 I fear you cannot possibly do anything about Nepenthes; but I hope Dyer does.12
I am so weary of correcting & adding to old work, that I long to be at new work.13
You give a wretched account of all your belongings; those infectious complaints are most bothersome; & I am very sorry to hear about your sister.14 We have here a poor household,— George & Horace in a poor state of health & can do nothing.15
There are many troubles in this life.—
If you can conveniently, do come here for a Sunday—
Dear old friend | Yours affecty. | Ch. Darwin
Your letter, as usual, told me lots of news.—
Footnotes
Bibliography
Coral reefs 2d ed.: The structure and distribution of coral reefs. By Charles Darwin. Revised edition. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1874.
Correspondence: The correspondence of Charles Darwin. Edited by Frederick Burkhardt et al. 29 vols to date. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1985–.
Cross and self fertilisation: The effects of cross and self fertilisation in the vegetable kingdom. By Charles Darwin. London: John Murray. 1876.
Descent 2d ed.: The descent of man, and selection in relation to sex. By Charles Darwin. 2d edition. London: John Murray. 1874.
Descent: The descent of man, and selection in relation to sex. By Charles Darwin. 2 vols. London: John Murray. 1871.
Insectivorous plants. By Charles Darwin. London: John Murray. 1875.
[Moulton, John Fletcher.] 1873. Herbert Spencer. British Quarterly Review 58: 472–504.
O’Brien, Charles F. 1970. Eozoön Canadense: ‘the dawn animal of Canada’. Isis 61: 206–23.
ODNB: Oxford dictionary of national biography: from the earliest times to the year 2000. (Revised edition.) Edited by H. C. G. Matthew and Brian Harrison. 60 vols. and index. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 2004.
Origin 4th ed.: On the origin of species by means of natural selection, or the preservation of favoured races in the struggle for life. 4th edition, with additions and corrections. By Charles Darwin. London: John Murray. 1866.
Origin 6th ed.: The origin of species by means of natural selection, or the preservation of favoured races in the struggle for life. 6th edition, with additions and corrections. By Charles Darwin. London: John Murray. 1872.
Zomlefer, Wendy B. 1994. Guide to flowering plant families. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press.
Summary
Thanks for information about Hedychium. Hopes wings of Sphinx will be found covered with pollen for that will be a fine bit of prophecy from the structure of a flower to special and new means of fertilisation.
Has been at Descent so hard he has done nothing, not even H. Spencer’s answer.
Has not yet read Croll ["Ocean currents", London Edinburgh & Dublin Philos. Mag. 47 (1874): 94–122, 168–90].
Has heard nothing about Carter and Eozoon. Eozoon, he infers, is done for.
Has read Belt [The naturalist in Nicaragua (1874)]: best of all natural history travel books.
Has written to Fritz Müller about leaf-carrying ants.
Hopes to resume work on Drosera.
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-9372
- From
- Charles Robert Darwin
- To
- Joseph Dalton Hooker
- Sent from
- Down
- Source of text
- DAR 95: 317–19
- Physical description
- ALS 6pp
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 9372,” accessed on 11 May 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-9372.xml
Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 22