From M. T. Masters 14 April 1863
Rye Lane | Peckham. SE
April 14. 1863
My dear Sir
Many thanks for the specimens you were kind enough to forward to me1 They singularly well illustrate the truth of the oft made remark that what is abnormal in one genus is the rule in another and have much significance when considered in relation to your views of inheritance and descent2 I notice that the more perfectly developed flowers are placed toward the upper part of the cluster
The peculiar arrangement of the stamens in this family is exceedingly curious and not well-understood I think—3
Again thanking you for your kindness believe me dear Sir | Faithfully Yrs. | Maxwell. T. Masters.
Chas. Darwin Esq
Footnotes
Bibliography
Ernst, Wallace R. 1962. The genera of Papaveraceae and Fumariaceae in the southeastern United States. Journal of the Arnold Arboretum 43: 315–43.
Variation: The variation of animals and plants under domestication. By Charles Darwin. 2 vols. London: John Murray. 1868.
Summary
Thanks CD for specimens which show that an abnormality in one genus is normal in another, which bears on CD’s views on descent.
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-4092
- From
- Maxwell Tylden Masters
- To
- Charles Robert Darwin
- Sent from
- Peckham
- Source of text
- DAR 171: 69
- Physical description
- ALS 2pp
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 4092,” accessed on 23 April 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-4092.xml
Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 11