My dear Price

I quite agree with you that stripes on animals offer a curious subject for investigation, and that every stripe has a meaning of some sort.¹ But I am not likely ever again to take up this subject. With respect to your “present craze”, as you call it, I would suggest your cutting off a little bit of the stem whilst under water; for de Vries, who is a very good authority, asserts that even a momentary exposure of a young cut stem to air affects the power of the stem to absorb water.²

I hope that you are regaining some tranquility, and I remain, my dear Price