From George Henslow 2 December 1865
10 South Crescent | Bedford Sq; | W.C.
Dec 2/65
My dear Sir,
I have been very remiss in not writing to thank you for your last interesting letter;1 but I have been so much engaged since then that I have not had even time to write: in fact I have been engaged in writing a resumé of your deeply interesting paper on tendrils &c. for the “Popular Science Review”, & had only a short time to do it in.—2 It has so greatly interested me that I quite long to see the plants themselves; & therefore I am going to make the request for you to allow me to run down to Bromley & give myself the pleasure of calling on you: I am afraid I must however wait until January,3 as being engaged in my school (of wh. I beg to enclose a Prospectus)4 I cannot get away till then: but if you are at home at that period I would I assure you, esteem it a great favour to be allowed to examine the plants in situ.
Very many thanks for your offer of Sprengel’s work:5 I will see if it is in the Linnæan Library or British Museum if not perhaps I may be allowed to borrow yours: but I do not like to put you to any inconvenience
I read your note on Medicago lupulina in conjunction with mine on M. sativa &c at the Linnæan (last meeting)6 It seemed to create interest
I should feel very much obliged if you will allow me to keep the printed paper on the Kidney beans 7 & to accept your offer as it will be very useful to me in Botanical teaching; for I am glad to get any illustrations pictures &c. or printed matter, for my “Instructional Herbarium”; originated by my father & now proving invaluable to me: i.e. a Herbarium with the addition of drawings of dissections of some 1 or more plant of every order, with morphological monstrosities Diagrams &c … interspersed for the purpose of teaching Botany in a School or in private lessons, which I am now doing,—having a class every Saturday Evening; as well as in my own school.—8
Have you ever examined Crocus to see if it requires intercrossing; I have often suspected it, & mean—as far as I can in London—to try a few experiments this spring. The method pursued by bees is admirably adapted for the purpose which only requires proving.9
Hoping you are in better health, | Believe me | Dear Sir, | Yours very Sincerely | Geo. Henslow
Footnotes
Bibliography
Alum. Cantab.: Alumni Cantabrigienses. A biographical list of all known students, graduates and holders of office at the University of Cambridge, from the earliest times to 1900. Compiled by John Venn and J. A. Venn. 10 vols. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1922–54.
‘Climbing plants’: On the movements and habits of climbing plants. By Charles Darwin. [Read 2 February 1865.] Journal of the Linnean Society (Botany) 9 (1867): 1–118.
Correspondence: The correspondence of Charles Darwin. Edited by Frederick Burkhardt et al. 29 vols to date. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1985–.
Henslow, George. 1865. Note on the structure of Medicago sativa, as apparently affording facilities for the intercrossing of distinct flowers. [Read 16 November 1865.] Journal of the Linnean Society (Botany) 9 (1867): 327–9.
Henslow, John Stevens. 1858. Illustrations to be employed in practical lessons on botany; adapted to beginners of all classes. London: Chapman & Hall.
Russell-Gebbett, Jean. 1977. Henslow of Hitcham: botanist, educationalist and clergyman. Lavenham, Suffolk: Terence Dalton.
Secord, Anne. 2002. Botany on a plate: pleasure and the power of pictures in promoting early nineteenth-century scientific knowledge. Isis 93: 28–57.
Sprengel, Christian Konrad. 1793. Das entdeckte Geheimniss der Natur im Bau und in der Befruchtung der Blumen. Berlin: Friedrich Vieweg.
Summary
Has been writing a review of CD’s "Climbing plants" for Popular Science Review [5 (1866): 55–65].
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-4944
- From
- George Henslow
- To
- Charles Robert Darwin
- Sent from
- London, South Crescent, 10
- Source of text
- DAR 166: 152, 152/1
- Physical description
- ALS 7pp
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 4944,” accessed on 24 April 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-4944.xml
Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 13