To T. H. Farrer 5 March 1880
[6 Queen Anne Street, London.]
Postscript Mar 5th. 1880.1
I have re-read my letter dated Mar 7 1878 & have nothing to withdraw.2 I may add that I have read two letters published by strangers in a Belfast newspaper, who declare, after examining Mr Torbitt’s ten-acre field, that there is the greatest difference between the several varieties in their liability to the disease, & that some seem to have quite escaped.3 Mr Torbitt himself assures me that some of the varieties are entirely free from the fungus, both in their foliage & tubers. But as young varieties seem to resist the disease better than those which have been long cultivated, it is especially desirable that these should be cultivated for several more generations, & that fresh seedlings should be raised from them. Mr Torbitt informs me that his business has been so unprofitable of late that he cannot continue his experiments, which are, & must be, very expensive, by his own means alone, as he had originally hoped to do.4
I may repeat my conviction that no one else is likely to undertake so laborious a task as the selection & cross-fertilization of the plant during many successive generations. As this letter may be seen by strangers, I will add that I have no sort of pecuniary interest in Mr Torbitt’s success. He is personally unknown to me, but his letters have inspired me with so much confidence, & his plan seems so much more hopeful than any which has ever been tried, that I have been glad to aid him to a small extent with funds.5
Unless Mr Torbitt is assisted immediately with a few hundred pounds, he will be compelled, as he informs me, to sell his whole stock of potatoes; & this to the best of my judgment would be a national misfortune & disgrace
Charles Darwin
Footnotes
Summary
[Letter written as a postscript to 11406.] CD has reread his letter of 7 Mar 1878 about the value of James Torbitt’s work on the potato disease and has nothing to withdraw. Emphasises Torbitt’s need for immediate financial help.
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-12512
- From
- Charles Robert Darwin
- To
- Thomas Henry Farrer, 1st baronet and 1st Baron Farrer
- Sent from
- Down
- Source of text
- Linnean Society of London (MS 489)
- Physical description
- LS 2pp
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 12512,” accessed on 23 April 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-12512.xml