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Darwin Correspondence Project

To W. E. Darwin   [after 14 July 1862]1

My dear William

I write in hurry to say Lenny so ill (but not I hope dangerously) that I cannot attend to anything:2 so do not send off Valerian, till you hear.—3

How capitally you have been working— The Erythræa seems grand new case, if it does not fail.—4 Look to roughness of stigmas & size of pollen-grains in the 2 forms.—

I shd. enjoy quoting your observations.— I have hardly considered Valerian yet—

It is a fearful illness of Lenny | yours | C. Darwin

Footnotes

Dated by the relationship to the letter from W. E. Darwin, 14 July 1862.
Leonard Darwin was suffering from scarlet fever (Emma Darwin’s diary (DAR 242); see also letters to W. E. Darwin, 4 [July 1862] and 9 July [1862], and letter to Asa Gray, 14 July [1862] and n. 3).
William had proposed to send CD specimens of Valeriana (see letter from W. E. Darwin, 14 July 1862). For CD’s request that William send specimens, see the letter to W. E. Darwin, [24 July 1862].
In the letter from W. E. Darwin, 14 July 1862, William had suggested that Erythraea centaurium might offer an additional instance of dimorphism.

Summary

Leonard’s illness.

Polymorphism in valerian and Erythraea.

Letter details

Letter no.
DCP-LETT-3650
From
Charles Robert Darwin
To
William Erasmus Darwin
Sent from
Down
Source of text
DAR 185: 12
Physical description
ALS 2pp

Please cite as

Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 3650,” accessed on 29 March 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-3650.xml

Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 10

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