To W. T. Thiselton-Dyer 7 October 1877
Down, | Beckenham, Kent. | Railway Station | Orpington. S.E.R.
Oct 7. 1877
My dear Dyer,
One line to thank you much about Myrtensia. The former plant has begun to make new leaves, to my great surprise, so that I shall be now well supplied.1 We have worked so well with the Averrhoa that unless the second species arrives in a very good state it would be superfluous to send it.2 I am heartily glad that you & Mrs Dyer are going to have a holiday.3 I will look at you as a dead man for the next month & nothing shall tempt me to trouble you. But before you enter your grave aid me if you can. I want seeds of 3 or 4 plants (not Leguminosæ or Cruciferæ)4 which produce large Cotyledons. I know not in the least what plants have large cotyledons. Why I want to know is as follows. The Cotyledons of Cassia5 go to sleep & are sensitive to a touch; but what has surprised me much is that they are in constant movement up & down. So it is with the cotyledons of the cabbage; & therefore I am very curious to ascertain how far this is general
With many thanks for your invaluable assistance | Yours very sincerely | Ch. Darwin
Footnotes
Summary
Wants seed with large cotyledons to test for sensitivity and movement.
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-11171
- From
- Charles Robert Darwin
- To
- William Turner Thiselton-Dyer
- Sent from
- Down
- Source of text
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (Darwin: Letters to Thiselton-Dyer, 1873–81: ff. 101–2)
- Physical description
- LS 3pp
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 11171,” accessed on 26 September 2022, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-11171.xml