Summary

Enquires about the relationship of English grains to French milligrammes.

Summary

The Copley Medal is considered a great honour, but such things make little difference to CD, except for the several kind letters he received. It shows that natural selection is making some progress.

His health is poor.

Work is crawling on Variation;

occasional botany recreative.

Summary

If CD understood Nepenthes, he would understand every class of climbers.

Summary

Thanks for letter and memoirs.

Suggests a "rather hopeless experiment" of introducing poisons into tissues of plants on the chance that monstrous growths may be produced.

Summary

Asks for names of plants mentioned in an article in Natural History Review ["South European Floras", n.s. 4 (1864): 369–84] so he can get seeds.

Also would like specimens of the two forms of Aegiphila.

Summary

Struck with corresponding positions of tendrils and flower-stalks in Passiflora. Sends [W. E. Darwin’s] dissection drawings of earliest stages. Infers that tendril is a modified flower peduncle.

Requests DO look at mode of climbing in Tecoma.

Summary

Has received EH’s Die Radiolarien. Drawings admirably executed. Had no idea such low animals could develop such beautiful structures.

Summary

CD sends thanks for MTM’s note on monsters. Adds comment on MTM’s point that some species become monstrous more frequently than others.

Summary

JS’s Primula paper was read at the Linnean Society and praised warmly by G. Bentham. Hooker was not present.

Summary

The signatories warn the RHS that in offering prizes for collections of specimens of wild English plants, the Society will cause serious injury to varieties already threatened without any real promotion of scientific botany.

Summary

JL’s review of Huxley ["Lectures to working men", Nat. Hist. Rev. n.s. 4 (1864)].

Summary

Returns WBT’s box of skulls. One or two skulls may be elsewhere, but CD does not have the strength to search for them.

Summary

Would be delighted to see FB for a few minutes but his health is so poor he doubts it would be worth the trouble for FB to visit.

Thanks about the otter-hound.

Summary

Describes difference between Pulmonaria flowers; wishes to know whether it is general.

Summary

Letter of recommendation stating his high opinion of John Scott.

Summary

Experiment instructions.

Summary

"Read a letter from Mr Darwin suggesting the Translation of Gaertner’s work [Bastarderzeugung im Pflanzenreich (1849)]."

Summary

Thanks HCW for Lythrum specimens.

CD has at last finished his Lythrum paper. ["Three forms of Lythrum", Collected papers 2: 106–31.]

Summary

Sends, for identification, specimens of bees and wasps which fertilise orchids. [Notes in FS’s hand on the same sheet identify the specimens.]

Summary

Response to ARW’s papers on Papilionidae ["On the phenomena of variation and geographical distribution", Trans. Linn. Soc. Lond. 25 (1866): 1–71; abstract in Reader 3 (1864): 491–3],

and man ["The origin of human races", J. Anthropol. Soc. Lond. 2 (1864): clviii–clxxxvi].

The former is "really admirable" and will be influential.

The idea of the man paper is striking and new. Minor points of difference. Conjectures regarding racial differences; the possible correlation between complexion and constitution. His Query to Army surgeons to determine this point. Offers ARW his notes on man, which CD doubts he will be able to use.

On sexual selection in "our aristocracy"; primogeniture is a scheme for destroying natural selection.

[Letter incorrectly dated March by CD.]