From Horace Pearce 16 November 1876
The Limes | Stourbridge.
16 Nov: 1876.
Chas. R. Darwin Esq. M.A. &c. &c. | London
Dear Sir,
Not long ago I was descending the lower slopes of Cader Idris, bearing some fine plants of Drosera and Pinguicula,1 with flies caught strikingly on the former—fresh & struggling, when three Artists left their easels & crowded to witness the remarkable sight!
Now with the aid of your carefully written work I was able & gratified to study & experiment upon them at home, & found their digestive powers truly wonderful.2 I had them planted in peat, & the pans immersed in pans of water, with bell glasses over most of the time. But they have gradually died off. Do you think it is caused by the less pure air of this inland County, & our short distance (12 miles) from smoky Birmingham? It was previous to the late cold, & not caused thereby, I believe.
Have you remarked that the “hairs” extending part way down the leaf stalks of Drosera are just where a fly, if walking off, would be first likely otherwise to escape?
Faithfully yours | Horace Pearce. | F.G.S.
Footnotes
Bibliography
Insectivorous plants. By Charles Darwin. London: John Murray. 1875.
Summary
Asks advice on transplanting insectivorous plants.
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-10675
- From
- Horace Pearce
- To
- Charles Robert Darwin
- Sent from
- Stourbridge
- Source of text
- DAR 174: 33
- Physical description
- ALS 3pp
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 10675,” accessed on 26 September 2022, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-10675.xml
Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 24