From Friedrich Hildebrand 6 December 1876
Freiburg i/B
Decbr 6th 1876.
Dear and honoured Sir!
I feel very much indebted to you for having sent me a copy of your new book.1 Of course I have not as yet read it, but a peep into it has shown me what I could not expect otherwise, that it is again of very great value for science. When I have read it, I shall perhaps write to you about one or the other point. I am very sorry, that the last summer has been here so unfavourable for the experiments I intended to make with flowers, that I have nothing worth to be communicated to you. As you advized me to repeat my former experiments in crossing different coloured varieties of Zea Mais, I tried it last summer, but without the wished success: for in the most cases the pollen of the read variety did not fertilize the flowers of the yellow variety, and when this was the case the fruits of the yellow variety did not show any influence of the red.2 I remember, that Professor Koernike in Bonn has made these experiments in the last time with better success; and perhaps you have heard about it in the meantime from himself; surely he will write to you about it, if you will ask him.3
Perhaps you will be so kind as to give my thanks to Mr. Francis Darwin for sending me his writings about Drosera etc. I have repeated last summer some of your experiments with the same success. Young plants of Drosophyllum I found covered with a large quantity of insects, though the plants were cultivated in an almost always shut greenhouse.4
Repeating my thanks for your kindness I remain | dear Sir | yours respectfully | Hildebrand
Footnotes
Bibliography
Correspondence: The correspondence of Charles Darwin. Edited by Frederick Burkhardt et al. 29 vols to date. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1985–.
Cross and self fertilisation: The effects of cross and self fertilisation in the vegetable kingdom. By Charles Darwin. London: John Murray. 1876.
Insectivorous plants. By Charles Darwin. London: John Murray. 1875.
Körnicke, Friedrich August. 1872. Vorläufige Mitteilungen über den Mais. Verhandlungen des Naturhistorischen Vereines der preussischen Rheinlande (und Westfalens) 29: 63–76.
Variation 2d ed.: The variation of animals and plants under domestication. By Charles Darwin. 2d edition. 2 vols. London: John Murray. 1875.
Variation: The variation of animals and plants under domestication. By Charles Darwin. 2 vols. London: John Murray. 1868.
Summary
Repeated maize crosses without success: i.e., in most cases yellow and red varieties did not produce fertile offspring.
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-10701
- From
- Friedrich Hermann Gustav (Friedrich) Hildebrand
- To
- Charles Robert Darwin
- Sent from
- Freiburg
- Source of text
- DAR 166: 214
- Physical description
- ALS 2pp
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 10701,” accessed on 26 September 2022, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-10701.xml
Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 24