My dear Father,

Thank you for your letter. I am very glad to hear what you are doing— I am sorry the confounded beans have not acted better.² Sachs wants to see the caustic experiment so I am going to do it & have got beans in sawdust; I don’t think it is much use going on measuring the Aroid roots much longer so I will use them for caustic as they are still growing well: there are also roots now coming in the greenhouse which will do for caustic.³ Sachs wants the bean caustic experiment done in loose earth as he seems to suspect abnormalities in air experiments & I suppose thinks earth better than water. I have had good success with mustard roots, they are strongly apheliotropic in a N window where there is no question of roasting with sunlight, & they grow much quicker in darkness without a shadow of doubt.⁴ I havn’t had so much time for microscoping as these roots though they havnt produced much have taken up time. I have had some tremendous talks with Sachs about climbing plants and I cannot quite make out what he is driving at. I dont think he understands what really occurs, but he is reading Climbing Plants again & perhaps he will come to his senses. I have formed a slightly new theory of revolving nutation which I cannot get him to see. I almost think I must wait to show you with a model what I mean: the only difference from your theory of nutation is that the lines of quickest growth are slightly spiral instead of straight lines. I can write it out if once I had shown what I mean by the model. I believe it is impossible to explain revolving nutation unless the lines are slightly spiral⁵

I have just got mothers nice letter, I am v glad the boys are so prosperous & good   I think a letter of mine has missed or else I have never been told how Ubbadubba liked some gorgeous Prussian paper soldiers with tumpets & dums. I send some soldiers with this letter for him— & please say Dada liked Ubbadubba’s last letter very much.⁶ My orchids with air roots have come & Veitch is such a swell he makes me a present of them—⁷ I have written to thank adding butter about Sachs admiring the beauty of the specimens which is true: but I rather doubt whether they will act well. I have written out some of the Down notes I said I would but not all yet. I had a horrid bother with my lodgings I found out the house was disreputable so I went, & the people wanted me to pay more than was fair, I went to a lawyer & he said I was right but it would be much less bother to pay, it all depended on what I had said when I took the lodgings & the people would swear one thing & I another & no witnesses. The old “Advokat” wouldn’t take any fee except getting me to translate an English letter into German. I have got a very good room with respectable people now

I will write to Bessy next. My love to Dor & Robert & a Finland stamp for Dor—⁸ Goodbye dear Father | Your affec | FD

Goebel who knows Greek well & reads it for pleasure says helic & aphelic are correct but thinks proshelic & aphelic better as giving the idea of direction in both names⁹