To J. S. Henslow 10 November [1860]
Eastbourne
Nov 10.
My dear Henslow.
We return home this afternoon, as my poor dear girl is now just strong enough to bear removal.— I received your letter forwarded from Down this morning, & very much obliged I am to you for having taken so much trouble about Dr. Bree.1 I had thought I would have inserted a letter in some Journal on so unprovoked attack on my veracity; but I am glad I did not. No one would ever have dreamed of his interpretations. Again I sincerely thank you.—
I never heard of such a muddle about the stone Hatchets.2 If you are sure that you can spare & know no one else who would make better use of B. de Perthes Book, I shd like to have a copy.3 His course of investigation has been a strange one.—
On my return home I will settle about the seeds.—
I am still at work on Drosera. I asked you about the moving red matter in the cells, & now for the chance of your knowing, I want to ask one other question; but please observe if I get no answer I shall understand that you do not know.— My question is whether, observations have been made on the action of weak solutions of Carb. of Ammonia (or of other salts) on the fluid contents of the cells of living plants.— I find that C. of Ammonia has a remarkable & rapid action when absorbed by the roots.
My dear Henslow | Ever yours gratefully | C. Darwin
Footnotes
Bibliography
Boucher de Crèvecoeur de Perthes, Jacques. 1847–64. Antiquités celtiques et antédiluviennes. Mémoire sur l’industrie primitive et les arts a leur origine. 3 vols. Paris: Treuttel & Wurtz [and others].
Bree, Charles Robert. 1860. Species not transmutable, nor the result of secondary causes. Being a critical examination of Mr Darwin’s work entitled ‘Origin and variation of species’. London: Groombridge & Sons. Edinburgh: Maclachlan & Stewart.
Correspondence: The correspondence of Charles Darwin. Edited by Frederick Burkhardt et al. 29 vols to date. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1985–.
Origin: On the origin of species by means of natural selection, or the preservation of favoured races in the struggle for life. By Charles Darwin. London: John Murray. 1859.
Summary
The stone hatchets are a great muddle. Would like a copy of Jacques Boucher [de Crèvecoeur] de Perthes’s book [Antiquités Celtiques et antédiluviennes (1847–64)].
Is studying action of carbonate of ammonia on Drosera. Asks if this has been done.
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-2981
- From
- Charles Robert Darwin
- To
- John Stevens Henslow
- Sent from
- Eastbourne
- Source of text
- DAR 93: A83–4
- Physical description
- ALS 4pp
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 2981,” accessed on 18 April 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-2981.xml
Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 8