To P. H. Gosse 7 April [1864]1
Down. | Bromley. | Kent. S.E.
Ap 7.
My dear Sir
If you place large sized pollen on the stigma of any plant & 12° or 18 hours afterwards place the pistil under rather a strong power of a simple microscope & with 2 needles gently tear up the stigma you will easily see the tubes.2 If the pollen be minute it is almost necessary to dissect under inch focal distance; but by gently & blindly teazing the stigma & then transferring the object to the comp. micro: you can generally see the tubes.3 If you once get to know their appearance with any pollen as with geranium, you will never mistake them in any other plant.
I have been almost confined to my bed room for 6 months & therefore cannot aid you about the exchange of Orchids but I fear you will find it difficult to exchange Catasetums,4 for I lately applied to Messrs Veitch5 for species & they informed me that they were so little valued that there were none in the market.
I believe some bi-generic crosses have been made but as the seeds do not germinate, it is impossible to know that the seeds are really well developed
I wish I cd write at more length, Believe me | Sincerely yours | Ch. Darwin
Footnotes
Bibliography
Correspondence: The correspondence of Charles Darwin. Edited by Frederick Burkhardt et al. 29 vols to date. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1985–.
Desmond, Ray. 1994. Dictionary of British and Irish botanists and horticulturists including plant collectors, flower painters and garden designers. New edition, revised with the assistance of Christine Ellwood. London: Taylor & Francis and the Natural History Museum. Bristol, Pa.: Taylor & Francis.
Post Office London directory: Post-Office annual directory. … A list of the principal merchants, traders of eminence, &c. in the cities of London and Westminster, the borough of Southwark, and parts adjacent … general and special information relating to the Post Office. Post Office London directory. London: His Majesty’s Postmaster-General [and others]. 1802–1967.
Summary
Discusses microscopic observation of pollen tubes.
Unable to exchange orchids because of his illness.
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-4454
- From
- Charles Robert Darwin
- To
- Philip Henry Gosse
- Sent from
- Down
- Source of text
- American Philosophical Society (Mss.B.D25.298)
- Physical description
- LS 4pp
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 4454,” accessed on 19 April 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-4454.xml
Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 12