Darwin Correspondence Project

Discussion Questions 

1. What sorts of scientific work did men and women do, and for whom?
2. Where did men and women typically carry out their work?
3. Does Darwin communicate and work with women in the same way he does with men?
4. What motivated men and women to correspond with Darwin and participate in the world of science?
5. What do these letters tell us about the i) perceived expertise and ii) lived experiences of Victorian men and women?

Observers

Men:

Letter 2221 – Blyth, E. to Darwin, [22 February 1858]

In this letter Edward Blyth, curator of the museum of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, sends specimens and bird observations from Calcutta.

Letter 3634 – Darwin to Gray, A., [1 July 1862]

In this letter, Darwin tells American naturalist Asa Gray about the observations of orchids made by his son, George. He details George’s findings and celebrates his son’s “enthusiasm and indomitable patience”.

Letter 4242 – Hildebrand, F. H. G. to Darwin, [16 July 1863]

In this letter, Hildebrand writes to tell Darwin that he has read his recent publication, Orchids. With the help of the Professor Trevianus, Hildebrand has repeated some of Darwin’s experiments on orchids and passes on their observations contained in “a little treatise”. 

Letter 4436 – Darwin to Hooker, J. D., [26-27 March 1864]

In this letter, Darwin thanks Hooker for posting to him a number of plants to aid his work on Climbing Plants. The plants are such “a great amusement” to observe that he has moved one or two of them into his bedroom.

Letter 5602 – Sutton, S. to Darwin, [8 August 1867]

In this letter Sutton, the keeper of the Zoological gardens in London, responds to Darwin’s request for observations of the expression of emotion in chimpanzees and orangs. 

Letter 5705 – Haast, J. F. J. von to Darwin, [4 December 1867]

In this letter, explorer and geologist Haast forwards Rev. Stack’s response to Darwin’s queries about Expression. Haast also encloses a photograph of the giant Diornis skeleton which he plans to show in his museum in Canterbury, New Zealand. 

Letter 6453 – Langton, E. to Wedgwood, S. E., [9 November 1868]

In this letter Darwin’s nephew, Edmund, writes to Emma Darwin’s sister, Sarah, with observations of a Sphinx moth. The moth examined the “mahogany knobs on the curtain rods” and seemed to be attracted to dark spots on the wallpaper.

Letter 5756 - Langton, E. & C. to Wedgwood S. E., [after 9 November 1868]

In this letter Darwin’s nephews, Edmund and Charles, write to Emma Darwin’s sister, Sarah, with observations of moths which seem attracted to brightly-coloured flowers on their wallpaper. While at church, Edmund noticed a “humming bird moth” which “was a long time examining the black letters in a marble tablet”.

Letter 6815 – Scott, J. to Darwin, [2 July 1869]

In this letter, John Scott responds to Darwin’s queries about Expression. He provides observations of expression and hair colour among natives of India. 

 

Women:

Letter 1194 – Darwin to Whitby, M. A. T., [12 August 1849]

In this letter, Darwin thanks Mary Whitby for passing on the results of her experiments. He would be grateful for any further observations of differences in structure or habits between silkworm breeds, or peculiarities in inheritance.

Letter 3787 – Darwin, H. E. to Darwin, [29 October 1862]

In this letter, Henrietta Darwin provides her father with observations, gathered from various households, of cats’ instinctive behaviour.

Letter 4258 – Becker, L. E. to Darwin, [31 July 1863]

In this letter, Lydia Becker details her observations and dissection of the hermaphroditic Lychnis plant. She also mentions her attempts to artificially fertilise plants in her garden. 

Letter 4523 – Wedgwood, L. C. to Darwin, [6 June 1864]

In this letter, Darwin’s niece, Lucy, responds to Darwin’s request for observations to be made on seeds of Pulmonaria officinalis.

Letter 5745 – Barber, M. E. to Darwin, [after February 1867]

In this letter, Mary Barber responds to Darwin’s queries about Expression from her home in South Africa.

Letter 5817 – Darwin to Huxley, T. H., [30 January 1868]

In this letter, Darwin asks Thomas Huxley to pass on some queries for his work on Expression to his wife, Henrietta. Darwin would like Mrs. Huxley to answer questions on expression in upset infants. Darwin comments that another woman from his neighbourhood is also making similar observations.

Letter 6736 – Gray, A. & J. L to Darwin, [8 & 9 May 1869]

In this letter Jane Loring Gray, wife of American naturalist Asa Gray, responds to Darwin’s queries about Expression during a trip to Egypt.

Letter 8676 – Treat, M. to Darwin, [13 December 1872]

In this letter, Mary Treat details her observations of Drosera filiformis. She also references her observational work on butterflies and offers to observe birds, insects or plants on Darwin’s behalf. 

Letter 8701 – Lubbock, E. F. to Darwin, [1873]

In this letter Ellen Lubbock, wife of naturalist John Lubbock, responds to Darwin’s request that she make observations of her pet cats.

Letter 8989 – Treat, M. to Darwin, [28 July 1873]

In this letter, Mary Treat reports in detail on her experiments with fly-catching Drosera.

Letter 9426 – Story-Maskelyne, T. M. to Darwin, [23 April 1874]

In this letter, Thereza Story-Maskelyne responds to a letter of Darwin’s which was published in Nature with some observations of her canary which eats primroses. She keeps a canary in her house and “cannot keep these flowers in the room” without the birds attacking the buds and flowers.

Editors

Men:

Letter 378 – Darwin to Henslow, J. S., [20 September 1837]

In this letter, Darwin takes Henslow up on his offer to proofread one of his manuscripts. He seeks sweeping criticisms and comments on tone but suggests that Henslow not trouble himself with “minutiae and correcting as such”.

Letter 2475 - Darwin to Hooker, J. D., [2 July 1859]

In this letter, Darwin returns the manuscript of Hooker’s On the Flora of Australia, which he has proofread. He offers a series of “criticisms” including comments on style and force of argument as well as errors of fact.

Letter 2501 - Lyell, C. to Darwin, [3 October 1859]

In this letter, Lyell offers praise and criticisms of a manuscript copy of Origin which he has proofread. He comments both on errors of content and on the style and tone of Darwin’s writing.

Letter 3001 – Darwin to Lubbock, J., [28 November 1860]

In this letter, Darwin offers editorial criticism of a paper written by English naturalist John Lubbock. In addition to offering advice on content, Darwin provides detailed feedback on missing words, style and clarity.

Letter 5403 – Darwin to Carus, J. V. [17 February 1867]

In this letter, Darwin thanks Carus for his editorial work on Origin. Darwin congratulates Carus’ editorial decisions and praises his “laborious” efforts over the translation of the text into German. The task at hand is troublesome but Carus’ “indomitable powers of work” mean that it is now nearly over.

Letter 8153 – Darwin to Darwin, W. E., [9 January 1872]

In this letter, Darwin thanks his son William for checking the proofs of a new, sixth edition of Origin. Darwin thanks William for his “grinding work” and acknowledges the “labour and anxiety” involved in the editorial process.

Letter 9156 – Wallace, A. R. to Darwin, [19 November 1873]

In this letter, Wallace reassures Darwin that he his happy to pass on the job of editing the second edition of Descent to Darwin’s son George. The work is tedious and Wallace feels that Darwin would be more satisfied if his son was to take on the job.

Letter 9157 - Darwin to Darwin, G. H., [20 November 1873]

In this letter, Darwin offers the work of editing the second edition of Descent to his son, George. Darwin warns George that it will be tedious work. He has consulted Mr. Bates who has suggested a wage of around 30 guineas for such “labours”.

 

Women:

Letter 2447 – Darwin to Murray, J., [5 April 1859]

In this letter Darwin asks his publisher, John Murray, to forward a manuscript copy of the first three chapters of Origin of Species to Georgina Tollet for proofreading. She is, he says, “an excellent judge of style”.

Letter 2461 – Darwin to Hooker, J. D., [11 May 1859]

In this letter, Darwin expresses anxiety over Hooker’s suggestion that his writing style might need improvement. He is particularly concerned that Hooker’s wife found the content obscure, even after it had been proofread and edited by “a lady”.

Darwin, E. to Darwin, W. E., (March, 1862 – DAR 219.1:49)

In this letter, Emma Darwin updates her son, William, on family news. Henrietta has been correcting the press of Orchids, which Darwin asked her to read to check that she can understand it.

Letter 3896 – Darwin to Huxley, T. H., [before 25 February 1863]

In this letter, Darwin offers the results of his proofreading of Huxley’s Lectures to Working Men. His letter also includes feedback from Henrietta on the content of Huxley’s work.

Letter 4010 – Huxley, T. H. to Darwin, [25 February 1863]

In this letter, Huxley praises Henrietta’s editorial criticisms of his work. He hopes that her tenderheartedness will help her forgive his errors and would be obliged if she could send further criticisms in the future.

Letter 5585 – Darwin to Darwin, H. E., [26 July 1867]

In this letter, Darwin praises Henrietta’s “excellent, excellent, excellent” “criticisms, doubts & corrections” of Variation.

Letter 7123 - Darwin to Darwin, H. E., [March 1870]

In this letter, Darwin thanks his daughter, Henrietta, for editing a manuscript of chapter two of Descent on the mental powers of man and lower animals. She has thoroughly mastered Darwin’s manuscript; her corrections and suggestions are “excellent” and her transpositions “most just”. 

Letter 7124 – Darwin to Darwin, H. E., [8 February 1870]

In this letter, Darwin seeks Henrietta’s editorial help with chapters three and four of Descent of Man. He seeks her “deep criticisms” as well as comments on tone and style. Henrietta is a “very good girl” for undertaking the job but, unlike his exchange with George on the same subject, no mention is made of payment for her work.

Letter 7605 - Darwin to Darwin, H. E., [20 March 1871]

In this letter, Darwin reports to Henrietta on the high volume of sales and positive reception of his book, Descent. Several reviewers speak of the “lucid, vigorous style, &c.” for which he owes her a great debt. Darwin offers Henrietta “some little memorial” in memory of the book over which she “took so much trouble”.

Letter 8427 – Darwin to Litchfield, H. E., [25 July 1872]

In this letter, Darwin thanks Henrietta for her editorial help with Expression. Her alterations are “all good” and most have been accepted. 

Experimentation

Men:

Letter 1836 – Berkeley, M. J. to Darwin, [7 March 1856]

In this letter, clergyman and botanist Berkeley details the breeding experiments he has conducted on various seeds. The experiments were carried out “at the suggestion of Dr Hooker” and what little he has ascertained is entirely at Darwin’s service.

Letter 2055 – Langton, E. to Darwin, F., [21 February 1857]

In this letter Darwin’s nephew, Edmund, writes to Francis with the results of his experiments with minnows and Prussian carp. He has conducted the experiments as directed but, unfortunately, both types of fish spat out the seeds he tried to feed to them. 

Letter 2069 – Tenant, J. to Darwin, [31 March 1857]

In this letter James Tenant, keeper of the aquarium at the Zoological Society’s gardens, sends Darwin the results of his feeding experiments with minnows.

Letter 2781 – Doubleday, H. to Darwin, [3 May 1860]

In this letter, Doubleday describes his experiments on Primroses, Oxlips and Cowslips. He has collected samples from nearby woods and planted them in the north-facing borders of his garden.

Letter 4233 - Tegetmeier, W. B. to Darwin, [29 June - 7 July 1863]

In this letter, Tegetmeier updates Darwin on the progress of the pigeon and poultry breeding experiments undertaken at Darwin’s suggestion.

Letter 5254 – Hildebrand, F. H. G. to Darwin, [23 October 1866]

In this letter, German botanist Friedrich Hildebrand details his experiments with plants, probably undertaken in his lab at the University of Bonn.

Letter 6046 – Weir, J. J. to Darwin, [24 March 1868]

In this letter, John Weir describes experiments he is undertaking in his home to test Wallace’s theory that birds reject highly-coloured caterpillars. Weir was a well-known ‘hobby naturalist’ who conducted numerous experiments for Darwin and Wallace from the comfort of his “pretty garden”.

Letter 6083 – Casparay, J. X. R. to Darwin, [2 April 1868]

In this letter, Casparay details his experiments on submerged flowers. He describes practices at the herbarium at Bonn and compares their plant collections with those at Kew.

Letter 6139 – Doubleday, H. to Darwin, [22 April 1868]

In this letter, naturalist Henry Doubleday details his experiments on colour and sex in butterflies and moths, all of which were conducted in his home.

Letter 10517 – Darwin to Francis, F., [29 May 1876]

In this letter Darwin gives his son, Francis, close instructions on how best to conduct experiments on the Teazle. Francis was helping Darwin with work which eventually culminated in the publication of The Movement of Plants in 1880 and his “assistance” is proudly referenced on the book’s opening pages.

 

Women:

Letter 1113 - Darwin to Whitby, M. A. T., [2 September 1847]

In this letter, Darwin questions Mrs. Whitby, who he had previously met at a meeting of the British Association, on the difference in flight capacity of male and female silkworm moths. He also requests the results of experiments she has undertaken to determine the heritability of dark “eyebrows”.

Letter 4258 – Becker, L. E. to Darwin, [31 July 1863]

In this letter, Lydia Becker details her dissection of the hermaphroditic Lychnis plant. She also mentions her attempts to artificially fertilise plants in her garden. 

Letter 1701 – Morris, M. H. to Prior, R. C. A., [17 June 1855]

In this letter, Margaretta Hare Morris describes her work on insects, undertaken on the shores of mountain lakes in Pennsylvania.

Letter 8113- Treat, M. to Darwin, [20 December 1871]

In this letter, Mary Treat describes her groundbreaking experiments on the relationship between butterfly sex and larval feeding time.

Letter 8989 – Treat, M. to Darwin, [28 July 1873]

In this letter, Mary Treat reports in detail on her experiments with fly-catching Drosera.

Letter 9485 – Treat, M. to Darwin, [8 June 1874]

In this letter, Mary Treat details her experiments on Dionaea which she undertakes alongside Dr. Wood of Wilmington.

Letter 10390 - Herrick, S. M. B. to Darwin, [12 February 1876]

In this letter, Sophia Herrick asks Darwin to provide further detail on some of the plant experiments described in Insectivorous Plants. Sophia describes her own experiments, including her use of microscopes to closely examine Dionaea. 

Fieldwork

Men:

Letter 385 – Wedgwood, S. E. & J. to Darwin, [10 November 1837]

In this letter Emma’s sister, Sarah, passes on information and fieldwork results from her father, Josiah Wedgwood II. The fieldwork was undertaken in the parish fields around their home at Maer Hall, Staffordshire.

Letter 1219 – Hooker, J. D. to Darwin, [3 February 1849]

In this letter, Hooker passes on news of fieldwork he has undertaken in the Himalayas. He writes from Darjeeling, having recently completed an expedition through the Sikkim Himalaya and Tibet.

Letter 4139 – Darwin, W. E. to Darwin, [4 May 1863]

In this letter, William sends the results of a recent fieldwork trip to the Isle of White.

Letter 4433 – Wright, Charles to Gray, A., [20, 25, 26 March & 1 April 1864]

In this letter, Charles Wright tells Asa Gray of fieldwork he has undertaken during an expedition in Cuba. He describes the flower of an orchid he has found and details his plans to head further down the coast to look for more samples.

Letter 4928 – Henslow, G. to Darwin, [11 November 1865]

In this letter J. S. Henslow’s son, George, passes on the results of some fieldwork he “casually” undertook on his summer holiday in Margate.

Letter 7433 – Wedgwood, F. to Darwin, [9 January 1871]

In this letter Darwin’s brother-in-law, Francis, reports on the appearance and depth of furrows in the fields around his home.

 

Women:

Letter 1701 – Morris, M. H. to Prior, R. C. A., [17 June 1855]

In this letter, Margaretta Hare Morris describes her work on fish and insects, undertaken on the shores of mountain lakes in Pennsylvania.

Letter 3681 – Wedgwood, M. S. to Darwin, [before 4 August 1862]

In this letter Darwin’s niece, Margaret, sends the results of fieldwork undertaken by her and her sisters while on holiday in Llandudno.

Letter 4823 – Wedgwood, L. C. to Darwin, H. E., [May 1865]

In this letter Darwin’s niece, Lucy, sends Darwin’s daughter, Henrietta, the results of fieldwork undertaken in the fields around her home at Leith Hill Place.

Letter 6139 – Doubleday, H. to Darwin, [22 April 1868]

In this letter, Doubleday responds to Darwin’s request for assistance and sends details of his experiments on colour and sex in butterflies. He explains that he will always feel great pleasure in serving Darwin in any way he can.

Letter 8144 – Darwin to Wedgwood, L. C., [5 January 1872]

In this letter, Darwin asks his niece, Lucy, to probe wormholes on steep slopes with blunt knitting needles.

Letter 8168- Ruck, A. R. to Darwin, H., [20 January 1872]

In this letter, Amy Ruck reports the results of her fieldwork on furrows and earthworm activity to her brother-in-law, Horace. She has dug a number of trenches, measured soil depths and tried, but failed, to find worm castings on the family’s croquet lawn.

Letter 8169 - Wedgwood, L. to Darwin, [20 January 1872]

In this letter Darwin’s niece, Lucy, gives the results of probing worm-holes with wire. She will sends more results once she has “dug some more trenches”.

Letter 9606 – Harrison, L. C. to Darwin, [22 August 1874]

In this letter Darwin’s niece, Lucy, sends a sample of Pinguicula which she found near a bog. She also sends a selection of insects, which are carefully packed in a tin box.

Letter 9616 – Marshall, T. to Darwin, [September 1874]

In this letter, Theodosia Marshall details samples she has taken and observations she has made during a half-mile stroll. The best plants, she finds, are found “in exposed places”.

Letter 10439 – Treat, M. to Darwin, [3 April 1876]

In this letter, Mary Treat describes a field trip in Florida. She sends Pinguicula specimens and believes she may have discovered a new species of waterlily.