Summary

JDH’s last letter demolishes woolly alpine plant theory.

Correlation of apetalous flowers and cold climate.

Summary

Request for Floras of Pacific Islands and Greenland.

Individual variation.

Summary

Some negative results in variety tabulation survey.

Galls on wild carrot.

Summary

Inquiries on effect of dry heat on temperate plants for glacial chapter.

Summary

Rule that species vary most in larger genera seems universal.

Response to Gardeners’ Chronicle note on "Bees and kidney beans" [Collected papers 1: 275–7].

Summary

Asks to borrow several Floras. Must redo calculations as John Lubbock has shown him an important error.

Summary

Important issue at stake with new flora calculations: evidence that species are only strongly marked varieties. Planning large-scale survey.

Summary

Returns some of the systematics books borrowed from JDH. Will now take on A. P. and Alphonse de Candolle [Prodromus].

Arrangements for a visit.

Summary

Survey of species with well-marked varieties: JDH’s Labiatae case a "great blow", but result is very generally consistent.

Summary

Species with marked varieties.

Dana’s pamphlet also too metaphysical for CD.

Natural selection chapter on hybridism completed.

Doubts JDH will resist theory in his introduction to Flora Tasmaniae.

Summary

Six volumes of Candolle’s Prodromus confirm rule that small genera vary less than large. Labiatae an exception to rule.

Summary

CD will advise Daniell not to apply for Royal Society grant.

CD’s experiment: fish fed seeds, which germinated when voided.

Summary

Royal Society medals.

Correlation of variability and abnormal development is G. R. Waterhouse’s law. Relation of this law to polymorphism.

Colouring and marks of ancestral horse deduced from facts observed in pigeons.

Summary

Mrs Henslow’s death stirs reminiscences of happier days.

Summary

Thanks JSH for his magnificent present. Hopes Hooker will bring the specimens.

Have water-fowl ever been seen at Ipswich on Mr Ransome’s great tank?

Summary

Glad WED has begun under George Henslow in the way that he has. CD wishes he had had such practice under J. S. Henslow.

Has had luck in his search for striped horses.

Summary

Supports nomination of John Lindley for award of Royal Medal of the Royal Society.

Summary

CD finds Alphonse de Candolle very useful, though JDH has low opinion.

CD argues for accidental introductions explaining some odd distributions, e.g., New Zealand vs Australian plants.

CD’s method.

Diverging affinities in isolated genera.

Summary

Writing section on large and small genera [for Natural selection, ch. 4].

Huxley supersedes Owen on parthenogenesis.

Buckle’s History of civilisation in England extremely interesting.

Summary

Separation of sexes in trees [U. S.].

Do plants offer positive evidence for "continuous land" theory?

Protean genera.