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* direct »Letter 247 — Alison, R. E. to Darwin, C. R., [June? 1834]
Sends some historical data to illustrate the elevation of the coast at Valparaiso in recent times.
* direct »Letter 385 — Wedgwood, S. E. (b) & Wedgwood, Josiah, II to Darwin, C. R., 10 Nov [1837]
Sends information about, and dates of treatment of peaty fields. Marl seems to have sunk to the natural stratum of hard white sand which lies below the peat. Thanks for "Maer Hypothesis" ["Formation of mould" (1840), Collected papers 1: 49–53].
* direct »Letter 390 — Darwin, S. E. to Darwin, C. R., [early Dec 1837?]
Father says he sowed broom plants soon after house was built in 1798; these never came up. In 1835 the terrace was made; thereafter the broom sprang up. Advice on a medicine CD is taking.
* direct »Letter 707 — Henslow, J. S. to Darwin, C. R., 17 Oct 1843
Regards [W. Kemp's] plant as clearly only Atriplex patula, though with "an unusual habit". Adds report on success of his Roman tomb exhibit.
* direct »Letter 725 — Darwin, C. R. to Dieffenbach, Ernst, 16 Dec 1843
"You will have been sorry to have seen in the newspapers, the disturbances & fightings with the New Zealanders. – I have lately been much interested in reading your chapters on the slow decrease in numbers … of these poor people. The case appears to me very curious, especially as the decrease has commenced or continued since the introduction of the potato – the relation between the amount of population & of food is hence inverted. It would have been a case for the great Malthus to have reflected on".
* direct »Letter 743 — Darwin, C. R. to Gardeners' Chronicle, [27 Mar 1844]
Writes to correct a statement made in his 1837 paper "On the formation of mould" [Collected papers 1: 49–53]. He should have said that marl was put on the field 30 years ago, not 80. Observations made on a visit to the field showed that worms had undermined the marl spread on the field at a faster rate than previously reported.
* direct »Letter 756 — Darwin, C. R. to Gardeners' Chronicle, [before 8 June 1844]
Sends a quotation from de Vallemont's Curiosities of nature and art in husbandry and gardening (1707) showing that the value of saltpetre in manure and the advantage of steeping seeds in specially prepared liquid manure were well known at the time.
* direct »Letter 1112 — Darwin, C. R. to Royle, J. F., 1 Sept [1847?]
Returns JFR's copies of Transactions [Agric. & Hortic. Soc. India]. Has not found quite as much as he thought he might on varieties of Indian domestic animals and plants; "the attempts at introduction have been too recent for the effects, if any, of climate to have been developed". Is impressed by the work of the English in India.
* direct »Letter 1504 — Darwin, C. R. to Hancock, Albany, 25 Feb [1853]
Asks at what depth Alcippe is found and on what date the shell with Alcippe specimens that AH sent was taken.
* direct »Letter 1735 — Blyth, Edward to Darwin, C. R., 4 Aug 1855
Sends a skeleton of a Bengal jungle cock.Has never heard of trained otters breeding in captivity. Introduced domestic rabbits are confined to the ports of India. Canaries and other tame finches and thrushes brought into India do not breed well. Origin of the domestic canary. Tendency of domesticated birds to produce "top-knot" varieties. The tame geese of lower Bengal are hybrids; those of upper Bengal are said to be pure Anser cygnoides. Wild Anser cinereus occur in flocks in the cold season. Discusses at length different breeds of domestic cats and possible wild progenitors. Wild and domestic cats occasionally interbreed. The Angora variety breeds freely with the common Bengal cat and all stages of intermediates can be found. Believes pigeons have been bred in India since remote antiquity. Discusses whether mankind is divided into races or distinct species. [CD's notes are an abstract of this letter.]