My dear Sir

I must write a few lines to thank you for your letter of Dec. 2^d, though I have nothing particular to say.¹ Your appreciation of Balfour’s book has pleased me excessively, for though I could not properly judge of it, yet it seemed to me one of the most remarkable books which has been published for some considerable time.—² He is quite a young man & if he keeps his health, will do splendid work. He is the younger brother of a Scotch man A. Balfour M.P. of immense fortune & nephew to a very grand gentleman, the Marquis of Salisbury.³ He has a fair fortune of his own, so that he can give up his whole time to Biology. He is very modest & very pleasant, & often visits here, & we like him very much.

Your Pontederia case is very curious: when writing the Origin, of Species what a fine instance it w^d. have been of one species beating out another, & under the apparent disadvantage of the mid-styled form alone having been introduced.⁴

As you speak of the seedlings varying I suppose that you feel sure that a suspicion which crossed my mind, of hybrid origin is groundless.— It is also very odd about the seeding & the appearance of the long-styled form. I never saw such oddly-coloured petals which arrived quite brightly coloured.⁵

Your Janira seems a very curious & interesting case; & with what exquisite clearness, you have drawn all its exterior organs.⁶

I have been working at the effects of Carbonate of Ammonia on roots, the chief result being that with certain plants the cells of the roots, though not differing from one another at all in appearance in fresh thin slices, yet are found to differ greatly in the nature of their contents, if immersed for some hours in a weak solution of C. of Ammonia.⁷

My dear Sir | yours ever sincerely | Charles Darwin

I remember once suggesting to you to write ‘a Journal of a naturalist in Brazil’ or some such title, & give in it a resume of your endless & most interesting observations; I wish that my suggestion would bear fruit.⁸

P.S— I have just had to look to Bentham & Hookers Genera, & this has reminded me that I do not at all know whether I have completed your set. If you care to have any parts not sent, I beg you to let me hear.— Hooker tells me that they have nearly completed the Monocotyledons, & that the Palms, Grasses & Orchideæ were fearfully hard work. The Palms took 2 years.—⁹