To L. C. Wedgwood 5 January [1872]1
Jan 5
My dear Lucy
Supposing that you have leisure during next 2 or 3 weeks, will you have a try with straight blunt knitting needle to ascertain, whether on steep slopes the worms come to surface at nearly right angles to the slope, or at nearly right angles to the horizon.—2
We have no steep grass-covered slopes here;—3 On nearly level surfaces the worms come up at all conceivable angles.— It wd be very important for me if I cd. ascertain that they generally come up at rt. ⟨s to the slope.— It is not easy to probe the holes.—
Yours affect | C. Darwin
Footnotes
Bibliography
Earthworms: The formation of vegetable mould through the action of worms: with observations on their habits. By Charles Darwin. London: John Murray. 1881.
Summary
Asks her to probe worm-holes on grassy slopes with a knitting needle to ascertain whether they come out at right angles to the slope or to the horizon.
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-8144
- From
- Charles Robert Darwin
- To
- Lucy Caroline Wedgwood/Lucy Caroline Harrison
- Sent from
- Down
- Source of text
- Cambridge University Library (Add 4251: 331)
- Physical description
- ALS 2pp
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 8144,” accessed on 26 September 2022, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-8144.xml
Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 20