My dear Sir—

I received your last letter shortly before leaving home for this place.¹ Owing to this cause, & to having been more unwell than usual, I have been very dilatory in writing to you.— When I last heard about 6 or 8 weeks ago from M^r. Murray, 400 copies of your Book had been sold, & I daresay 500 may now be sold.² This will quite repay me, if not all the money; for I am sure that your book will have got into the hands of a good many men capable of understanding it: indeed I know that it has. But it is too deep for the general public. I sent you 2 or 3 Reviews: one of which in the Athenæum was unfavourable; but this Journal has abused me, & all who think with me, for many years.—³ I enclose two more notices not that they are worth sending: Some other brief notices have appeared.⁴

The case of the Abutilon sterile with some individuals is remarkable: I believe that I h^d. one plant of Reseda odorata which was fertile with own pollen; but all that I have tried since are sterile except with pollen from some other individual. I planted the seeds of the abutilon; but I fear that they were crushed in the letter.—⁵ Your Escholtzia plants were growing well, when I left home, to which place we shall return by the end of this month, & I will observe whether they are self-sterile.—⁶

I sent your curious account of the monstrous Begonia to Linnean Soc. & I suppose it will be published in the Journal.—⁷ I sent the extract about grafted Orange trees to Gardeners’ Chronicle, where it appeared.—⁸ I have lately drawn up some notes for a French Translation of my Orchis-book: I took out your letters to make an abstract of your numerous discussions, but I found I had not strength or time to do so, & this caused me great regret. I have alluded to your work, as you will see in my Paper, which will also be published in English, & which I will send it you.⁹

With the most cordial feelings believe me, my dear Sir, | Yours very sincerely | Charles Darwin

P.S. By an odd chance, since I wrote the beginning of this letter, I have received one from D^r. Hooker, who has been reading Für Darwin: he finds that he has not knowledge enough for the first Part; but says that Chpt X & XI “strike me as remarkably good”— He is also particularly struck with some of your highly suggestive remarks in the note to p. 119—¹⁰ Assuredly all who read your book will greatly profit by it, & I rejoice that it has appeared in English.