Dear Sir

I ought to have answered your kind letter before this but the excuse I have to make is one that will be accepted I know.¹ The day after I received your letter and the copy of the paper upon Linums,² I went out into the meadows for the first time for a long period. You know that I have promised myself to look up the Plantagos this season and I found that P. lanceolata was already coming into bloom.³ The very first spike I examined, showed I fondly thought, that I was on the eve of a discovery. I tried all I could find in bloom and I fully believed that this species at least does not—cannot—be fertilised by its own pollen. You know how careful I am, and I was afraid to trust this first examination, and was waiting for better opportunities for confirming these observations. We have since had cold rains and very cold dry winds and these have checked the growth even of the weeds. I have therefore not carried my observations so far as I should otherwise have wished before mentioning them. But I must not delay my letter any longer and I cannot send it off without telling you what I think I have seen. The pubescent styles are protruded nearly or quite all the way up the spike before the stamens of the lower flowers even are ready to expand. By the time the lower flowers have hung out their anthers the styles are withered and useless (probably later in the season fertilised) half way up the spike at least.⁴ How is fertilisation brought about? My idea is that the wind is the agent, although like yourself I dont give the wind credit for doing much in this line.⁵ In the first place there is no coloured corolla, no odour, and (I think) no honey to attract insects. With all the time I have been able as yet to devote to this point I have seen only one single insect settle upon a spike of this plant. I watched him (he was a kind of fly—I am afraid of entomological terms) and he seemed to me to have settled there by accident perhaps merely to rest, for he did not set about examining flowers, he was simply resting himself—doing nothing—

Let us see what there is to favour the idea of the wind as being the agent. The long exserted styles are downy, ready to catch any pollen wafted to them; the anthers are hung out clear of the spike upon long thin filaments; the pollen is dry and non-cohesive in any way.— it is easily scattered from the large splitting anthers. So the matter stands at present, I think with me that you will say there is enough to induce one to hope for some facts worth having. Through the winter I have been looking up all my friends except those at Kew⁶ and have collected above 30 species of the genus—hoping that something would turn up in regard to their structure and wondering what it would be. I expect mine is the largest set of these weeds in the country and should anybody get a view of my garden this year I shall be sure to get my German title back again—“The mad Englishman”.⁷ I am afraid the genus Bougueria is not in cultivation, most people would think it not worth growing. However I must if possible get hold of our British Littorella— Sir W. Hooker says in Brit Flora that it makes quite a turf on the margins of Highland lakes.⁸ I have sent to a friend in Aberdeenshire— it grows too in our own country but rarely. I dont doubt that I shall get it. Both genera should be examined in connection with Plantago. they would throw side light upon the subject.⁹ My wild specimen of P. lanceolata which last year produced a rosette of leaves instead of flower-spike (a foliaceous expansion of the bracts) has this season returned to the normal form.¹⁰ I have however got seedlings from the few flowers produced among the leaves of that rosette and shall wait and see what they do.— Net like the sample you sent me will keep out the wind enough for practical purposes, dont you think it will?¹¹

After no end of a lot of correspondence with all parts of the country I this winter succeeded in getting above two dozen genuine single Hollyhocks from a friend’s friend in Yorkshire. They are doing well and are safe to flower— it remains however to see what the colours may be. Out of so many taken up at hazard we shall surely get a sufficient variety to suit our purpose.¹² With health there is little to fear on this point.

My Linum flavums have stood the winter well and though few in number will I hope be sufficient. Many thanks for your kind mention of my name in connection with this plant.¹³

Upon second thoughts I believe it would be worth while to let you have a list of my Plantagos, as possibly in your wanderings you may light upon one or two sp: which might be added to my collection, and I know you would not think me troublesome in asking it.

P. stricta. Schousb.¹⁴ P. pumila, L

mexicana, Link¹⁵ Hookeriana F. et Mey.¹⁶

arenaria W. et K.¹⁷ amplexicaulis. Cav.¹⁸

lagopus, L.¹⁹ microcephala, Poiret²⁰

lusitanica L. sibirica, Pl.²¹

Psyllum²² major

subulata, L. F.²³ —[ditto]— monstrosa

Loeflingii, L. —[ditto]— purpurea

maritima intermedia

coronopus lanceolata

serpentina — [ditto]— var.

virginica, L. Xorullensis, Kunth.²⁴

Candollei, Rap.²⁵ nitida

alpina altissima ?

graminea ciliata (or cynops?)

I am specially anxious to add all vars of Brit. sp: I can get hold of.

I found that Henderson of Pine Apple Place,²⁶ had got Peloria vars of Antirrhinum and Linaria vulgaris, so wrote and bought them with one or two Plantagos and other things, but although I did this 6 weeks ago I have not got them down yet.²⁷ I am afraid the order is so small they hardly think it worth doing. If I go to London this spring I shall go and fetch them.— Out of 100 Primroses examined last week I found 44 long styled 56 short— the long ones differ much in length.— Out of 50 Cowslips—27 were long—23 short styled— Nobody has grown P. sinensis in quantity in this locality this year.—²⁸

Believe me to remain, dear Sir, with the Greatest thanks for your kindness— | Yours very respectfully | Chas. W. Crocker

C. Darwin Esq^r.

Three days have I see been lost (lost to science but used in money making) since I commenced this letter.²⁹