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Summary
JDH’s last letter demolishes woolly alpine plant theory.
Correlation of apetalous flowers and cold climate.
Transcription
Moor Park
Sunday morning
My dear Hooker
I have just received your final & most conclusive destruction of woolly-alpine doctrine.f1 I shd. hope that these materials (now returned) would be well worth publishing in something:—
Would they not come in well in your Arctic memoir;f2 so that I do not apologise for having been the means of stirring you up to prove that your old suspicions were thoroughily well grounded.
It has given my nervous system, as a compiler, a severe shock; I am sure to publish many small generalisations as false as you have shown this to be.— Whenevever you turn to Arctic work, bear in mind Linnæus & Adamson’s remark about flowers becoming apelatous in cold, & therefore Arctic species ought to be normally apetalous in many cases.—f3
I am not sure whether you meant me to return you your note accompanying your Statistics, if so, let me hear & I will return it.f4
I return Asa Gray’s list of Alpines.—
I suppose you will soon have back Mrs. Hooker.— Her presence has been a great thing for Etty, & pray give her my best thanks for all her kindness to Etty.
My dear Hooker | Most truly yours | Ch. Darwin