To J. S. Henslow 2 April [1860]
Down Bromley Kent
Ap. 2d.
My dear Henslow
I write one line to remind you to be so kind as to give me a sketch & account of the wasp’s comb in transitional state from horizontal to vertical, & the country whence procured, &c., &c.—1
As I am in the way of reminding, I will remind about Anacharis—viz how far it has travelled up the Cherry Hinton-Brook—how long the journey has consumed, the means &c.—2 I have since you were here found statement by Babington that this plant is now not so common as it was at first introduction.3 I shd. very much like to have this confirmed, & what creatures destroy it.— Lastly what plants in any particular spot or pond it has nearly or quite exterminated by taking their places.? Here is a goodly list of queries!
Many thanks for your Sermon & for copies of the Examination Papers received some time since.4 Sedgwick’s was not very fair towards the Students;5 but Murray, the Publisher, thought it splendid for selling copies to the unfortunate Students.—
My dear Henslow | Yours very truly | C. Darwin
Footnotes
Bibliography
Babington, Charles Cardale. 1848. On Anacharis alsinastrum, a supposed new British plant. Annals and Magazine of Natural History 2d ser. 1: 81–8.
Correspondence: The correspondence of Charles Darwin. Edited by Frederick Burkhardt et al. 29 vols to date. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1985–.
Russell-Gebbett, Jean. 1977. Henslow of Hitcham: botanist, educationalist and clergyman. Lavenham, Suffolk: Terence Dalton.
Winstanley, Denys Arthur. 1947. Later Victorian Cambridge. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Summary
Reminds JSH to send "sketch & account of the wasp’s comb in transitional state from horizontal to vertical, & the country whence procured".
Asks for information on spread of Anacharis [Elodea].
Sedgwick [in criticism of Origin] was not very fair, but Murray says it is splendid for selling copies to "the unfortunate students".
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-2742
- From
- Charles Robert Darwin
- To
- John Stevens Henslow
- Sent from
- Down
- Source of text
- DAR 93: A65–6
- Physical description
- ALS 3pp
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 2742,” accessed on 24 April 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-2742.xml
Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 8