My dear Hooker

Is it worth while to send the Medallion by Railway? say the word & it shall be sent.—¹

I consulted the great M^r Startin for my Eczema;² & the enclosed local applications are certainly to me very soothing. The muddy stuff must be shaken, a little poured out & smeared on part with broad camel-brush, & then mopped nearly dry with a bit of rag.— Startin said particularly go to Waugh 177 Regent St.—³ Please return prescription.⁴

I hope & think that you are too severe on Lyell’s early chapters: though so condensed & not well arranged, they seemed to me to convey with uncommon force the antiquity of Man, & that was his object. It did not occur to me, but I fear there is some truth in your criticism that nothing is to be trusted until he Lyell had observed it.—⁵

I am glad to see you stirred up about Tropical plants during Glacial period. Remember that I have many times sworn to you that they coexisted, so my dear fellow you must make them coexist.⁶ I do not think greater coolness in a disturbed condition of things would be required than that zone of Himalaya in which you describe some Tropical & temperate forms commingling;⁷ & as in lower part of Cameroons, & as Seemann describes on low mountains of Panama—⁸ It is, as you say, absurd to suppose that such a genus as Dipterocarpea could have been developed since glacial era;⁹ but do you feel so sure, as to oppose a large body of consideration on other side, that this genus could not have been slowly accustomed to a cooler climate. I see Lindley says it has not been brought to England¹⁰ & so could not have been tried in greenhouse. Have you materials to know to what little height it ever ascends mountains of Java or Sumatra. It makes a mighty difference the whole area being cooled; & the area perhaps not being in all respects, such as dampness &c &c fitted for such temperate plants as could get in. But anyhow I am ready to swear again that Dipetrocarpea & any other genus you like to name did survive during a cooler period!

About Reversion you express just what I mean:¹¹ I somehow blundered & mentally took literally that the child inherited from his grandfather: this view of latency collects a lot of facts—both secondary sexual character in each individual—tendency of latent character to appear temporarily in youth—effect of crossing in educing latent character &c.— When one thinks of a latent character being handed down hidden for a thousand or ten-thousand generations & then suddenly appearing, one is quite bewildered at the host of characters written in invisible ink on the germ.— I have no evidence of the reversion of all characters in a variety.— I quite agree to what you say about genius; I told Lyell that passage made me groan.—¹²

What a pity about Falconer; how singular & how lamentable.—¹³

I am tired, so farewell | Ever my dear Hooker | Yours affect^ly | C. Darwin

Remember Orchid pods.— I have a passion to grow the seeds (& other motives):¹⁴ I have not a fact to go on, but have a notion (no, I have firm conviction!) that they are parasites in early youth on cryptogams!! Here is a fool’s notion; I have some planted on sphagnum.—¹⁵ Do any tropical lichens or mosses or European withstand heat grow on any trees in Hothouse at Kew; if so for love of Heaven favour my madness & have some scraped off & sent me. I am like a gambler, & love a wild experiment. It gives me great pleasure to fancy that I see radicles of orchis-seed penetrating the sphagnum; I know I shall not, & therefore shall not be disappointed.