My dear M^r. Moggridge

It is uncommonly kind of you to have taken the trouble to copy the long extract from Ziegler.¹ But it so happens that I have seen the Paper and much it astonished me. I tried most of his experiments, and could not observe even a trace of the effects which he describes.² I cannot but think that the whole Paper is the work of the imagination.

I am very sorry to hear that the vapour experiments have failed; but nothing could be better, as it seems to me, than your plan of enclosing a number of the ants with the seeds. The incidental results on the power of different vapours in killing seeds and stopping germination appear very curious, and as far as I know are quite new.³

You say nothing about your health; I heard indirectly some time ago a rather bad account, but I hope that this was an error.⁴

Believe me with many thanks | Your’s very sincerely | Ch. Darwin

P.S. | I never before heard of seeds not germinating except during a certain season; it will be a very strange fact if you can prove this.⁵