Darwin, C. R. to Child, G. W.
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Cannot judge GWC's fitness for the Botanical Chair at Oxford. But CD appreciates his work, particularly that on spontaneous generation [Proc. R. Soc. Lond. 13 (1863–4): 313; 14 (1865): 178].
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Transcription
Down. | Bromley. | Kent. S.E.
May 6.
Dear Sir
As I am not a professed botanist I do not feel myself entitled to give a testimonial in regard to your fitness for occupying the Botanical chair at Oxford. But I have pleasure in saying that your Essays have given me a favourable idea of your capacity & of your love for science.
Your experimental researches on the Production of Organisms in closed vessels, published by the Royal Society, seem to have been performed with much care, & are in my opinion valuable, whatever result may be finally arrived at in this difficult question.
Believe me dear Sir | yours very faithfully | Charles
Darwin
To D
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- f1 6162.f1
The year is established by the relationship between this letter and the letter from G. W. Child, 3 May [1868]. - +
- f2 6162.f2
See letter from G. W. Child, 3 May [1868], and letter to G. W. Child, [6 May 1868]. - +
- f3 6162.f3
CD refers to Child's Essays on physiological subjects (Child 1868a). CD's lightly annotated copy is in the Darwin Library--Down. The essays were privately published at the beginning of 1868, but were published commercially later in the year (Child 1868b). - +
- f4 6162.f4
Child had published two papers on spontaneous generation in the Proceedings of the Royal Society: `Experimental researches on spontaneous generation' (Child 1864), and `Further experiments on the production of organisms in closed vessels' (Child 1865).