Darwin, C. R. to Tait, W. C.
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Discusses need for cross-fertilisation in Geranium.
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Hooker begins to doubt whether Drosophyllum so closely allied to Drosera.
Summary Add
Transcription
Caerdeon, Barmouth | N. Wales
July 17
My dear Sir
Your obliging letter of the 11th has been forwarded to me
here. The case of the Geranium is not new; there are many
plants, often called Dichogamous, in which the anthers shed
their pollen before the stigma is ready, and a few converse
cases in which the stigma is mature before the pollen is
ready. All these dichogams absolutely require
cross-fertilisation. When I left home a month ago one
alone of the Drosophyllums was still healthy. D
I am not intending at present to publish on Instinct, though I have much MS. almost ready for press; and I doubt whether my strength will last out to publish much more on any subject. We have taken this house for 8 weeks for change of air, but it has done me very little good, and I hope to be at home again by the end of this month.
Pray believe me, | My dear Sir, | Yours very faithfully | Ch. Darwin
[…]
P.S. 2
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- f1 6833.f1
The year is established by the relationship between this letter and the letter from W. C. Tait, 11 July 1869. - +
- f2 6833.f2
See letter from W. C. Tait, 11 July 1869. - +
- f3 6833.f3
Tait had sent CD several specimens of Drosophyllum lusitanicum, but they arrived in poor condition (see letter to W. C. Tait, 12 and 16 March 1869). - +
- f4 6833.f4
Joseph Dalton Hooker. - +
- f5 6833.f5
See letters from W. C. Tait, 10 May 1869 and 11 July 1869. CD had received information on Saxon merino sheep from his German translator, Julius Victor Carus (see letters from J. V. Carus, 22 January 1869 and 2 February 1869). - +
- f6 6833.f6
CD refers to Descent. - +
- f7 6833.f7
The reference is to Orchids. The second postscript is from the sale catalogue. The rest of the letter is transcribed from a copy in DAR 147 which does not include the postscripts. - +
- f8 6833.f8
The original letter is complete and is five pages long.