To ? 29 March 1882
Down, | Beckenham, Kent. | (Railway Station | Orpington. S.E.R.)
March 29th 1882
Dear Sir
I cannot answer your questions; nor do I suppose that anyone could do so.— Earth worms are hermaphrodite, but two must unite & both produce eggs.—1
I have seen hundreds coupled, early in the morning & occasionally through the night.— I believe in the spring, but cannot positively remember.
I remain | yours faithfully | Ch. 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.
Lankester, Edwin Ray. 1864–5. The anatomy of the earthworm. Quarterly Journal of Microscopical Science n.s. 4: 258–68; 5: 7–18, 99–116.
Summary
"Earthworms are hermaphrodite, but two must unite & both produce eggs.–– I have seen hundreds coupled, early in the morning & occasionally during the night.––"
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-13748A
- From
- Charles Robert Darwin
- To
- Unidentified
- Sent from
- Down
- Source of text
- John Wilson (dealer) (no date)
- Physical description
- ALS 1p
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 13748A,” accessed on 25 April 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-13748A.xml
