To Lawson Tait 27 November [1875]1
Down, | Beckenham, Kent. | Railway Station | Orpington. S.E.R.
Nov. 27th
My dear Sir
I have looked through the whole of your paper,2 but have not read it very carefully, as I have been unwell & confined to bed, & now a pile of proof is waiting for correction.3 Your paper seems to me, as far as I can judge, a very important contribution to science; & I hope that your chemical observations which must have been extremely difficult will be hereafter confirmed. It seems a great anomaly that two substances with an acid shd be requisite for digestion.4
I will despatch your paper registered tomorrow to the R. Soc.
My dear Sir | Yours very faithfully | Ch. Darwin
You speak of the several “Varieties” of Nepenthes; are they not commonly ranked as species?
You alluded to some abstract:5 this I have not received & you had better send it direct to R. Soc.—if meant for the Proceeding, or for reading aloud.—
Footnotes
Bibliography
Variation 2d ed.: The variation of animals and plants under domestication. By Charles Darwin. 2d edition. 2 vols. London: John Murray. 1875.
Summary
Because CD has been unwell, he has not read RLT’s paper carefully, but it seems an important contribution to science. Hopes RLT’s chemical observations will be confirmed. It seems a great anomaly that two substances with an acid should be requisite for digestion.
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-10280
- From
- Charles Robert Darwin
- To
- Robert Lawson (Lawson) Tait
- Sent from
- Down
- Source of text
- DAR 221.5: 30
- Physical description
- ALS 3pp (photocopy)
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 10280,” accessed on 18 April 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-10280.xml
Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 23
