To Francis Darwin 4 [June 1881]1
Glenryhdding House | Paterdale— Penrith.
Sat. 4th.
My dear F.
I have worked this morning at Ch. VI. & have taken almost all your very good corrections & omissions.—2 I have not ventured to alter that clumsy sentence about “half of two-thirds &c”, because this was written by George, & he might swear that I had spoiled the mathematical accuracy of the statement. Tomorrow I shall do the short Ch. VII. in which the corrections seem heavy.3 Thank Heaven all the heavy work is done. I am extremely glad that you approve on the whole of the little book, for I have felt awfully doubtful.—
I can have no doubt that you ought to publish about the false circumnutation due to light, not only as a caution about the necessary rate of a klinostat (& this is very important) but as showing in how short a time light acts most efficiently on the mould.—4 By Jove will it not be very difficult writing in German? I rather regret its appearing in German, but now do be a good boy & send a full abstract to Nature.—5
How very nicely Elfing takes the affair & how friendly he feels towards you.— I suppose that he is too poor to pay you a visit at Down.— His discovery about a Galvanic stream causing movement is very remarkable.—6 Suggest to him to excite the extreme tip of the radicle alone; & this could be done if the rest of the radicle was kept in very moist air, & then he could observe whether the upper part of radicle became curved. Why on earth does he use zinc plates, instead of platina? Would it not be worth while to tell him that I suspected that zinc-plates in peat & moss killed Drosera. If the tips are really sensitive to Galvanism,—it is a new & fine case.— I will not mention it to a soul.7
I am rather sorry to hear about Tieghem, for the book seems to me a very good one—(though he evidently despises me!)8
Our house here is an excellent one & most comfortable in every way, with plenty of rooms & large ones.— I have just been trespassing at near end of Mr Marshalls park & found it perfectly charming.9 I do so wish you were here.—
Henrietta, Bessy & Leonard have just started in Steamer up Lake to meet Litchfield, who will be here at 4 P.M.— Bernard very jolly, but has become fearfully sensitive; he walked with us into Mr. Marshalls Park, carrying all the way the Soldiers received this morning, which made his little eyes sparkle like diamonds.10
When I began this note, I intended to write only single page & this will account for all the scraps.—11
I have just had an awful invitation from Paget to lunch with him on Augt 3d to meet the Prince of Wales.12
Good Bye—dear old Backy wish that you were here. | Your affectionate Father, | C. Darwin
Footnotes
Bibliography
Darwin, Francis. 1881b. Ueber Circumnutation bei einem einzelligen Organe. Botanische Zeitung, 29 July 1881, pp. 473–80.
Earthworms: The formation of vegetable mould through the action of worms: with observations on their habits. By Charles Darwin. London: John Murray. 1881.
Elfving, Fredrik. 1881. En obeaktad känslighet hos Phycomyces. Botaniska Notiser (1881): 105–7.
Elfving, Fredrik. 1882. Ueber eine Wirkung des galvanischen Stromes auf wachsende Wurzeln. Botanische Zeitung 40: 257–64, 273–8.
Insectivorous plants. By Charles Darwin. London: John Murray. 1875.
Tieghem, Philippe van. 1884. Traité de botanique. Paris: F. Savy.
Summary
Has taken almost all FD’s corrections for chapter six [of Earthworms]. Is glad FD approves of the book.
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-13193
- From
- Charles Robert Darwin
- To
- Francis Darwin
- Sent from
- Patterdale
- Source of text
- DAR 211: 80
- Physical description
- ALS 6pp
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 13193,” accessed on 28 March 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-13193.xml