Dear Sir

I am much gratified by yours to hand & it will give me much pleasure to receive a copy of your work with the additions, as from yourself.¹ I have done however little to deserve this token of your kind esteem, & shall gladly accept it therefore as a mark of honour. Usually speaking I try to guard against receiving works lest it seem to involve a second motive in any little communications I venture at times to make to anyone, & which I like to think are regarded as most freely tendered without any of the world’s notions of awarding a quid pro quo. The more so, as also, it is out of my power to return such obligations in any due & worthy manner when the reverse case operates. Again therefore I thank you very heartily for this mark of your kindness, & I take it as purely such, for you must not indeed think of me personally as of any scientific account. I pursue nothing in this way systematically, for conditions are complete barriers,² but this I do in my little way— i.e. I try to store up mentally every observation however trivial which crosses one’s attention in a right way, & when occasion demands me to use a pen, then I find my “storage” observations come to the fore very clearly.

Only one thing could I propose to do if I am not very unwise in naming it, & that is, I would wish (already for some little time, it has been a half-fixed intention) to study the works on “Plant life” & “Worms” together, & (as is a habit in such cases) throw my reading & personal observ^ns in the form of a paper.³ If I attempted this, I would gladly submit it without prejudice or presumption to M^r Murray for the “Quarterly” Editor’s consideration unless he has already engaged an article on such works for, say, his April n^o. of next year.⁴ A further qualification is—health permitting me.⁵

Pray excuse my intrusion thus upon your valuable time in naming such matters, & again thanking you, I remain dear Sir | Yours faithfully & honoured | J. F. Simpson

C. Darwin Esq F.R.S.

P.S. Why I class these two works together is that I imagine they complement each other in their researches in a great measure, &, together, exhibit the respective influences of underground changes of such phases of arboreal & animal life, as being of a very complete order in restoring soil potency.

(P.S. You must not please imagine that I require a copy of “Power of Movements &c” along with your kind gift of “Worms”. I do not.