Summary

Thanks CD for £25. Discusses preparations for trip to India.

Summary

Forwards two character references for John Scott, for position JDH is arranging in India.

Summary

Surprised at CD’s account of Bryanthus.

H. Crüger’s approach to Gongora fertilisation is beset with difficulties.

Reports his work on self-sterility of Oncidium.

Summary

Thanks for communicating Oncidium sterility paper [see 4485] to Linnean Society.

Surprised that CD’s seedlings of non-dimorphic cowslip breed true.

Surprised also that the red primrose he sent reverts to wild form. He had reasoned from red’s infertility with yellow that it was an established variety. Tries to correlate inheritance of colour and sterility between varieties.

Summary

Discusses the negative testimonial provided him by James McNab.

Sends testimonial from J. H. Balfour.

Would be glad if offered the sort of colonial opportunity Hooker suggests.

Summary

CD has told Scott not to hope for help from JDH.

Health improving.

Hopes to write Lythrum paper soon.

Summary

Thanks CD for loan of £10.

Summary

John Scott preparing to leave soon.

Summary

CD thinks JDH takes a hard view of Scott’s character, but will not argue further.

Leersia.

Working on homomorphic and heteromorphic crosses in Primula.

Summary

CD has proved common oxlip to be a hybrid of cowslip and primrose.

Reviewing literature on climbing plants, CD finds he has much new material.

W. H. Harvey claims evidence of saltation in a dandelion.

Summary

Recommends paper by John Scott to be read at Linnean Society.

Summary

JDH’s visit stimulates CD’s interest in his own work. Encloses list of queries on climbing plants. [Missing]

Summary

Replies to queries on climbing plants.

JDH meets Scott and finds him an intelligent and superior-looking man. Scott wishes to come to Down before leaving England.

Summary

Sends Primula MS, which CD has promised to communicate to Linnean Society [see 4213].

Will soon send results on peloric Antirrhinum.

Summary

Glad that Oliver is to review John Scott’s paper in the Natural History Review (Scott 1864a). Apologises that his enclosed references (now missing) are so paltry.

Summary

CD’s photograph looks like J. R. Herbert’s Moses in the fresco in the House of Lords.

JDH is delighted about oxlip, but hybridity does not explain some large patches that are uniform and do not vary towards either cowslip or primrose.

Encloses letter from W. H. Harvey discussing Myosotis sylvatica and the common dandelion.

Summary

Sees difficulty of placing Scott at Kew. Suspects Balfour is prejudiced because Scott is a Darwinian.

CD’s former letter on Clematis [4403] blundered; work now being revised.

Summary

CD’s pleasure at JDH’s willingness to help Scott find a position in India.

Naudin underrates contamination of his experiments by insects. Thus CD doubts Naudin’s results on rapidity and universality of reversion in hybrids.

Wallace’s paper on man [see 4494] reflects his genius, although CD does not fully agree with it.

Summary

JDH has written to J. H. Balfour for a character reference for John Scott.

Summary

JS has now taken post of Curator of the Royal Botanic Garden, Calcutta.

Wishes to vindicate himself of the charge that he pursued his experiments at Edinburgh to the detriment of his work.

Apologises for poor quality of his Verbascum paper, which was written from his notes during the passage to India [J. Asiat. Soc. Bengal 36 (1865) pt 2: 145–74].