From J. D. Hooker 3 July 1874
Royal Gardens Kew
July 3d/74
Dear Darwin
I have been going on with Nepenthes, despairing altogether of Dyer who has more irons in the fire than I have!1 I have 3 plants set out in an inviolable place a very sanctum & shall make a point now of going on—all other duties social, scientific, & parental notwithstanding.
I have made out
I That the structure is acid before the pitcher opens.
II That other parts of the plant are also acid.
III That the secretion is renewed from the glandular surface below the middle of the pitchers, after all has been withdrawn from an unopened pitcher.
IV That a sugary secretion is sometimes given off by the gland on the undersurface of the lid of the pitcher—& in considerable quantity too. But unaccountably I very rarely find it—only once in fact, viz my sanctum, but it was so copious that I cannot doubt but that it was normal.
Any hints for observations most gratefully received.— I note carefully what I do.—
Ever yours affec | J D Hooker
NB. I have your notes about meats to work with.2
CD annotations
Footnotes
Bibliography
Correspondence: The correspondence of Charles Darwin. Edited by Frederick Burkhardt et al. 29 vols to date. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1985–.
Summary
Sends results of his observations on Nepenthes. Would be grateful for any hints for further observations.
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-9530
- From
- Joseph Dalton Hooker
- To
- Charles Robert Darwin
- Sent from
- Kew
- Source of text
- DAR 103: 202–3
- Physical description
- ALS 3pp †
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 9530,” accessed on 29 March 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-9530.xml
Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 22