My dear Father,

I have today looked both here and at Rogers’s at the worm heap near the Robinias.²

I have examined 7 to 9 in all. Owing to the wet they are battered and decayed, and the leaves broken and doubled in in some cases, and some of the leaves seemed to have been pulled in sideways. On the whole I think there were decidedly more drawn in by the tips of the leaves than by the stalk end; in 3 cases if not in 4 almost all the leaves were drawn down point first, but in these cases there were also some broken bits in a sideways position or crumpled, so that I could not say what would be the proportion in any one heap; but I certainly saw none where any large proportion of the leaves had been drawn in stalk downwards, in several cases they seemed to be almost equally divided. A month or so ago one could have decided the proportion fairly well.

I looked at all I could find but no doubt I could find more if you would like me to look again.

I return George’s note which is interesting, and I should like to hear if he makes out the law of the distances from crest to crest of the ripples.³ Please thank mother for her letter. We shall be a very small Christmas party and I fear we shall not have Horace & Ida.⁴

There was a long notice in the Standard yesterday, it is not worth looking at. It opened in a civil but condescending tone. I shall like to see D^r Hooker’s when at Down—.⁵

Your affect son | W E. Darwin

I find Sara has returned George⁶