To Edward Frankland 18 October [1873]1
Down, | Beckenham, Kent.
Oct 18th
My dear Sir
Once again I have to thank you for all the trouble which I have caused you. It was my simple ignorance: I had always heard of & seen blue litmus paper, & could not believe that it was right.—2
Yours truly obliged | Ch. Darwin
Footnotes
The year is established by the relationship between this letter and the letter from Edward Frankland, 16 October 1873.
CD had received some sensitive litmus paper from Frankland, and had queried whether it should be pink, or whether it had been exposed to acid in the post (see letter from Edward Frankland, 16 October 1873 and n. 1). Litmus paper is purple when in a neutral environment.
Summary
Apologises for his ignorance in interpreting the results secured in his testing with blue litmus paper.
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-9100A
- From
- Charles Robert Darwin
- To
- Edward Frankland
- Sent from
- Down
- Source of text
- The John Rylands Library, The University of Manchester
- Physical description
- ALS 1p
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 9100A,” accessed on
Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 21
letter
