To L. A. Errera 4 October 1877
Down, | Beckenham, Kent.
Oct 4th 1877
Dear Sir,
I have now read your M.S.1 The whole has interested me greatly & is very clearly written I wish that I had used some such terms as ‘autogamy’ ‘xenogamy’ &c.2 I entirely agree with you on the a priori probability of geitonogamy being more advantageous than autogamy; & I cannot remember having ever expressed a belief that autogamy as a general rule was better than geitonogamy; but the cases recorded by me seem too strong not to make me suspect that there was some unknown advantage in autogamy. In one place I insert the caution “if this be really the case”, which you quote.3 I shall be very glad to be proved to be altogether in error on this point.
Accept my thanks for pointing out the bad erratum at p 301.4 I hope that you will experimentize on inconspicuous flowers; if I were not too old & too much occupied I would do so myself.5
Finally let me thank you for the kind manner in which you refer to my work & with cordial good wishes for your success, I remain | dear Sir | Yours faithfully | Charles Darwin
Footnotes
Bibliography
Cross and self fertilisation: The effects of cross and self fertilisation in the vegetable kingdom. By Charles Darwin. London: John Murray. 1876.
Forms of flowers 2d ed.: The different forms of flowers on plants of the same species. 2d edition. By Charles Darwin. London: John Murray. 1880.
Forms of flowers: The different forms of flowers on plants of the same species. By Charles Darwin. London: John Murray. 1877.
Summary
Approves terms used in LAE’s manuscript. Discusses relative advantages of self-fertilisation and cross-fertilisation.
Thanks LAE for pointing out erratum [in Cross and self-fertilisation].
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-11166
- From
- Charles Robert Darwin
- To
- Léo Abram Errera
- Sent from
- Down
- Postmark
- OC 4 77
- Source of text
- American Philosophical Society (Mss.B.D25.523)
- Physical description
- LS 4pp
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 11166,” accessed on 19 April 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-11166.xml