From J. D. Hooker 9 [March] 18641
Kew
Feby 9th/64
Dear Old Darwin
I am worthy of death, for so long delaying to answer your capital long letter,2 which I shall now proceed to categorically.
If H. C. Watson does publish I shall surely let you know, but if he has any sense of shame, he can only do it by taking up the subject; & that I do wish he would, & treat me as he thinks fit in the course of it—3 he will no more make me angry than Owen did.4
Scott’s paper is ordered for printing in Linnæan Journal.5 I have not seen it, but Thomson, who heard it, thought it most valuable.6 I think Thomson is beginning to nibble at Darwinism— Bentham is in for it, but will not own it.—7
I wrote that little notice of Boott for Gardeners Chronicle & 3 others—all different,—for the Medical papers,—8 I never was so put to in my life, but what could I do, when the Ladies9 asked me? There were absolutely no data of any consequence, & I had heard that he had some bitter feuds, of which I truly knew nothing—so I bargained that they must give me all the heads of topics & ratify all I said—but I never was so put to to cook them up. I absolutely refused to go into his religious character.10
On the other hand I felt & feel, that I could not do too much for dear old Boott’s memory—if only there was any-thing to do!
You surely can recognize that old frump Phillips hand in the Quarterly Review of Lyell.11
I was very near printing an exposé of Franklands glacial theory, which cost me a sleepless night, to concoct, but F. begged me to wait till he published at length.12 I never read anything so wrong, geologically & meteorologically, nor more contradicted by Existing facts in Physical Geography.
I have not seen ADCs. pamphlet on sexes.13
Falconer is no nearer the Lake origin than Ramsay,14—but my objection to the whole argument is, that we have no data— we do not know the rock outline of any lake bottom—nor whether its longitudinal section is a rock basin, or a rock canal blocked up at the lower end by detritus or sediment or moraine till we know that what is the use of speculating?
Crugers letter excited great interest the other night— Oliver read it & demonstrated with chalk sketches on board.15
There was an old story that plants in S. Hemisphere twined the opposite way, but it was exploded long ago.16
I can send you Norantea from Kew, without waiting for Crugers, & will with some other climbers.17 We have never succeeded in flowering it. I hope you may It is wonderful how many twining plants there are: & I do not doubt the truth of your remark as to potentiality of climbing power throughout V.K.—18 There is no true climbing Umbellifer known to me.— a New Zealand Angelica may be so— I think a Chilian genus of Cruciferæ (Cremolobus Gen. Pl. 90) twines or approaches that condition I know no Labiate that climbs.19
Get Lapageria rosea,20 from Hendersons, Wellington Road, St. John’s wood—21 they have lots of it— our plants are exhausted by constant subdivision.
How does Nepenthes climb?22
I wish Huxley would not go out of his way to pick quarrels with such cattle as Carter Blake & Hunt.—who he thus magnifies greatly.23
I spent last Sunday with my wife at Lubbocks,24 & I yearned to go over & see Mrs Darwin, but it would have been too great a punishment to both of us (you & me). I cannot tell which I crave for most, another little girl,25 or for you to get well— Poor dear little Charlie,26 I have just heard this evening that he has ring-worm (caught at school) & must be removed— do you know any thing of that complaint?— I have told my wife to ask Paget tomorrow what we had best do.27 I should like to have him home and keep him apart here. A hospital for contagious diseases amongst the upper classes is greatly wanted. Harriette is growing up nicely, & dear old Willy seems to be in “statu quo” in point of progress.28 Brian29 is a powerful urchin, mentally & bodily—
Ever yr. affec | J. D. Hooker
Footnotes
Bibliography
Allan, Mea. 1967. The Hookers of Kew, 1785–1911. London: Michael Joseph.
Calendar: A calendar of the correspondence of Charles Darwin, 1821–1882. With supplement. 2d edition. Edited by Frederick Burkhardt et al. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1994.
‘Climbing plants’: On the movements and habits of climbing plants. By Charles Darwin. [Read 2 February 1865.] Journal of the Linnean Society (Botany) 9 (1867): 1–118.
Correspondence: The correspondence of Charles Darwin. Edited by Frederick Burkhardt et al. 29 vols to date. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1985–.
Crüger, Hermann. 1864. A few notes on the fecundation of orchids and their morphology. [Read 3 March 1864.] Journal of the Linnean Society (Botany) 8 (1865): 127–35.
Desmond, Adrian. 1994–7. Huxley. 2 vols. London: Michael Joseph.
Hooker, Joseph Dalton. 1859. On the flora of Australia, its origin, affinities, and distribution; being an introductory essay to the flora of Tasmania. London: Lovell Reeve.
Orchids: On the various contrivances by which British and foreign orchids are fertilised by insects, and on the good effects of intercrossing. By Charles Darwin. London: John Murray. 1862.
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.
[Owen, Richard.] 1860b. [Review of Origin & other works.] Edinburgh Review 111: 487–532.
Post Office directory of the six home counties: Post Office directory of the six home counties, viz., Essex, Herts, Kent, Middlesex, Surrey and Sussex. London: W. Kelly & Co. 1845–78.
Post Office London directory: Post-Office annual directory. … A list of the principal merchants, traders of eminence, &c. in the cities of London and Westminster, the borough of Southwark, and parts adjacent … general and special information relating to the Post Office. Post Office London directory. London: His Majesty’s Postmaster-General [and others]. 1802–1967.
Richards, Evelleen. 1989. The ‘moral anatomy’ of Robert Knox: the interplay between biological and social thought in Victorian scientific naturalism. Journal of the History of Biology 22: 373–436.
Stocking, George W., Jr. 1971. What’s in a name? The origins of the Royal Anthropological Institute (1837–71). Man n.s. 6: 369–90.
Stocking, George W., Jr. 1987. Victorian anthropology. New York: The Free Press. London: Collier Macmillan.
Thury, Marc Antoine. 1863. Mémoire sur la loi de production des sexes chez les plantes les animaux et l’homme. 2d edition. Geneva and Paris: Joël Cherbuliez.
Summary
Reception of Scott’s paper.
Difficulty of writing Boott’s obituary.
Critical of Edward Frankland’s glacial theory.
Falconer’s and Ramsay’s views on Himalayan lakes lack support of basic evidence.
Taxonomic distribution of climbing plants.
Huxley picks quarrels with minor figures and thus magnifies them.
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-4404
- From
- Joseph Dalton Hooker
- To
- Charles Robert Darwin
- Sent from
- Kew
- Source of text
- DAR 101: 189–92
- Physical description
- ALS 7pp
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 4404,” accessed on 26 September 2022, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-4404.xml
Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 12