25772 research outputs found
Sort by
Letter from Charles Darwin to John Brodie Innes [3347]
No full textTranscription:"My dear Innes I hope Johnny's heart will not fail. We will take much care of Quiz. If he comes pray thank Johnny. If you will see that the Dog is at London Bridge. S.E. Railway Station by one oclock, I will see that Snow, who is up as usual on Thursday, calls for him & brings him here safely. I had told Snow that he might be at Nag's Head this day & gave all sorts of Instructions in case he came later, after he had started. I suppose you will very soon be off to Scotland; most heartily do I hope you all happiness in your new career as Scotch Laird or Chieftain, as perhaps I ought to call it—f3 Pray give my very kind remembrances to Mrs. Innes & believe me. Dear Innes, Yours very sincerely, Charles Darwin" Letter, signed by sender. Sent from Down House, near Beckenham, Kent, England.The Robert M. Stecher Collection of Charles Darwin Books and Manuscript
Letter from Charles Darwin to John Brodie Innes [3343]
No full textTranscription:"My dear Innes. I have got to go out & do not wish to miss a Post, so write in great Hurry, to say that we shall be delighted to have Quiz, who shall be taken great care of, & never parted with & when old & infirm shall pass from this life easily. Most truly yours, C. Darwin" Letter, signed by sender. Sent from Down House, near Beckenham, Kent, England.The Robert M. Stecher Collection of Charles Darwin Books and Manuscript
Letter from Charles Darwin to D. F. Nevill [Dorothy Fanny Nevill], 3324
No full textTranscription: "Madam, I do not know how sufficiently to thank your Ladyship for your singularly kind note & the magnificent present of Orchids. I should have much enjoyed accepting your Ladyships permission to see your famous collection of Orchids; but my health is far from strong & the journey would be very fatiguing to me. The Orchids have interested me extremely & some of them have been most useful; but they were unfortunately rather too dry. If I might venture to ask your Ladyship I hope you will thank your gardener for sending me so clear a list of names. Only one of the sorts arrived too withered for examination (for my object) viz the Bolbophyllum. If your Ladyship could spare me one more spike, with a few unopened flowers on it, & have the kindness to direct it to have a little damp moss tied round the cut end & sent by post (in tin Box or cannister if possible), it would be of great use for my work. Some of the species, as your Ladyship knows, of Bolbophyllum have the little lip or Labellum within the flower irritable, so as to move when touched; I shd. be very truly obliged if your Ladyship could have this point ascertained, that is if you can send me one more spike. If I understand your Ladyship’s note, there is no chance of your being enabled to send me a Mormodes or Cycnoches, in the course of a few weeks. I believe that your Ladyship understands the natural enthusiasm of a naturalist over his subject, & to this alone I can trust for your Ladyship to excuse the length to which this note has run. With the most sincere thanks, I beg leave to remain your Ladyships, Very truly obliged, Charles Darwin I will take the liberty of doing myself the pleasure of sending to you a copy of my little book on Orchids when published. If a single flower of Mormodes or Cycnoches should open & your Ladyship could send it; it would be necessary that it should be tied down to bottom of Box or basket, so that not even an atom of moss should fall on the irritable top of column; & damp moss should be tied closely round the cut end. These genera would be a priceless treasure to me." Letter sent from Down, Bromley, Kent, England.The Robert M. Stecher Collection of Charles Darwin Books and Manuscript
Letter from Charles Darwin to G.R. Waterhouse [George Robert Waterhouse], 3317
No full textTranscription: "My dear Waterhouse Many thanks for the enclosed interesting letter. It always pleases me to see a clear-headed man on my side, & especially if he be bold enough to speak out, & thus render really efficient aid. For it will require much speaking out before this side will receive fair toleration. Mr. Walsh has evidently been a close & good observer of Fishes. What he says about the Sea-Trout in the Loch is very curious; & it would be very desirable that some professed Ichthyologist should examine these Trout. It would make a good case for me. But until thus examined & pronounced on, cavillers would simply deny that the fish was a sea-trout. I hope to see you before long, for I shall be up on the 21st to read a paper at Linn. Soc. Did you ever look at the skull of the Borneo Domestic Cat, which I gave you? My dear Waterhouse, Yours very sincerely, Charles Darwin" Letter sent from Down, Bromley, Kent, England.The Robert M. Stecher Collection of Charles Darwin Books and Manuscript
Letter from Charles Darwin to [H. W. Bates] 3338
No full textTranscription: "My dear Sir I thank you for your extremely interesting letter, & valuable references, though God knows when I shall come again to this part of my subject. One cannot of course judge of style when one merely hears a paper, but yours seemed to me very clear & good. Believe me that I estimate its value most highly. Under a general point of view, I am quite convinced (Hooker & Huxley took same view some months ago) that a philosophic view of nature can solely be driven into naturalists by treating special subjects as you have here done. Under a special point of view I think you have solved one of the most perplexing problems which could be given to solve. I am glad to hear from Hooker that Linn. Soc. will give Plates, if you can get drawings; but I suppose they might be drawn on to stone or copper. Pray excuse me for again saying if ever you want £10 or £20, I shall be pleased to send it, for any aid in Natural History. Do not complain of want of advice during your Travels; I daresay part of your great originality of views may be due to the necessity of self exertion of thought. I can understand that your reception at B. Museum would damp you; they are a very good set of men, but not the sort to appreciate your work. In fact I have long thought that too much systematic work of description somehow blunts the faculties. The general public appreciates a good dose of reasoning, or generalisation with new & curious remarks on habits, final causes &c &c, far more than do the regular naturalists. I am extremely glad to hear that you have begun your Travels. (I thought your Glacial Letter admirably written); I am very busy, but I shall be truly glad to render any aid which I can by reading your 1st Chapter or two. I do not think I shall be able to correct style, for this reason, that after repeated trials I find I cannot correct my own style till I see the M.S. in type. Some are born with a power of good writing, like Wallace; others like myself & Lyell have to labour very hard & slowly at every sentence. I find it very good plan, when I cannot get a difficult discussion to please me, to fancy that some one comes into the room, & asks me what I am doing; & then try at once & explain to the imaginary person what it is all about. I have done this for one paragraph to myself several times; & sometimes to Mrs. Darwin, till I see how the subject ought to go. It is, I think, good to read one's M.S. aloud. But style to me is a great difficulty; yet some good judges think I have succeeded, & I say this to encourage you. What I think I can do will be to tell you whether parts had better be shortened. It is good I think to dash "in medias res", & work in later any descriptions of country or any historical details which may be necessary. Murray likes lots of woodcuts- give some by all means of Ants. The public appreciate Monkeys, our poor cousins. What sexual differences are there in monkeys? Have you kept them tame? if so about their expression. I fear that you will hardly read my vile handwriting, but I cannot without killing trouble, write better. You shall have my candid opinion on your M.S., but remember it is hard to judge from M.S.- one reads slowly & heavy parts seem much heavier. A first rate judge thought my Journal very poor; now that it is in print, I happen to know, he likes it. I am sure you will understand why I am so egotistical. I was a little disappointed in Wallace's Book on the Amazon; hardly facts enough. On other hand in Gosse's books there is not reasoning enough to my taste. Heaven knows whether you will care to read all this scribbling M.S. can be sent by Book Post, if marked to be printed. Had you not better register it? Many thanks for Wallace's letter; he rates me much too highly & himself much too lowly. That was an admirable paper of his in Linn. Journal. But what strikes me most about Mr Wallace is the absence of jealousy towards me: he must have a really good honest & noble disposition. A far higher merit than mere intellect. With cordial good wishes & thanks, Yours sincerely, C. Darwin I am glad you had pleasant day with Hooker: he is an admirably good man in every sense. Endorsement: Endorsement: 1861" Letter, signed by sender. Sent from Down House, near Beckenham, Kent, England.The Robert M. Stecher Collection of Charles Darwin Books and Manuscript
Letter from Charles Darwin to unknown
No full textLetter from Charles Darwin to unknown. Letter about Hollyhocks, describing the results of an experiment. Letter, signed by sender. Sent from Down, Bromley, Kent. Transcription: "My dear Sir, I am extremely much obliged to you for so kindly writing to me & offering me information. I have long been curious about Hollyhocks.— The Dean of Manchester told me that some kinds came true, even when growing near others. This surprised me greatly, as it can be shown to be almost certain that every flower must be fertilised by the pollen of a distinct flower. Hence I bought some good seed, & several kinds came up very true; the black-coloured kind came up absolutely true, & I saved its seed, & though a dozen different varieties were growing close, again all the seedlings were true. It can hardly be, judging from my extremely limited experience, that the flower always inherits its mother's colour, for I castrated & crossed a dark purple with pollen of yellow kind, & there was great variability in the seedlings, but one seedling alone showed plainly the yellow colour of its father. In case of most plants pollen of another variety seems to have a prepotent effect over a plant's own pollen, (as experiments made by myself have convinced me); & it has occurred to me whether in some very fixed vars. of Hollyhocks exactly the reverse was the case,— that is whether the pollen of a plant's own variety was not prepotent over that of other varieties. The facts which I wish to know, are whether some or many of the variations of Hollyhock come true by seed. And secondly whether the great raisers of Hollyhock seed, who sell named kinds, whether they grow the varieties far apart to prevent crossing. And thirdly, whether when vars. of Hollyhocks are artificially crossed & castrated, whether the colours of the seedlings are generally intermediate. I should be extremely much obliged for any information on these points or on the progress of your work of selection.— I have not much time for reading, & have not yet seen your work, but must see it & your account of the vars. of Cassia.— I yesterday sent off another letter to Cot. Gardener: but I begin greatly to doubt the great Mr. Beaton.— He makes, I am sure, plenty of mistakes in his late discussions, & is dogmatic in highest degree My dear Sir, your sincerely obliged, Charles DarwinThe Robert M. Stecher Collection of Charles Darwin Books and Manuscript
Letter from Charles Darwin to [H. W. Bates] 3109
No full textTranscription: "My dear Sir I have been unwell, so have delayed thanking you for your admirable letter. I hope you will not think me presumptuous in saying how much I have been struck with your varied knowledge, & with the decisive manner in which you bring it to bear on each point,- a rare & most high quality, as far as my experience goes. I earnestly hope you will find time to publish largely: before the Linn. Soc. you might bring boldly out your views on Species. Have you ever thought of publishing your travels & working in them the less abstruse parts of your Nat. History? I believe it would sell, & be a very valuable contribution to Nat. History. You must, also, have seen a good deal of the natives. I know well it would be quite unreasonable to ask for any further information from you; but I will just mention that I am now & shall be for a long time writing on Domestic variation of all animals. Any facts would be useful; especially any showing that savages take any care in breeding their animals; or in rejecting the bad & preserving the good- or any fancies which they may have that one coloured or marked dog &c is better than another. I have already collected much on this head, but am greedy for facts. You will at once see their bearing on Variation under Domestication. Your observations on Carabus, with respect to Glacial period, seem very important. I daresay you know that some geologists have speculated on a Permian & even on a Challk Glacial period. When considering plants of Australia, a suspicion crossed me that there must have been an ancient migration from N. temperate to S. temperate regions. I feel sure that if you saw lists of plants in T. del Fuego—on isolated mountains of India, Java, Borneo, Abyssinia, S.E. Australia, Fernando Po, you would see that there must have been a very recent migration. This view is largely supported by plain geological facts. I have a rather long M.S. discussion, well copied out, which Hooker has read, & which if you thought it worth your while, you might with welcome read; but I doubt whether it would be worth your while. Hereafter when I come to Geograph. Distrib. (& God knows when that will be) I will deeply consider all your most valuable remarks. Thank you for facts on intermediate vars. in intermediate regions; I can see how complex the case is; & I hope before I come to that subject you will have largely published. But the case you give is excellent. Hardly anything in your letter has pleased me more than about sexual selection. In my large M.S (& indeed in Origin with respect to tuft of hairs—on breast of Cock-Turkey) I have guarded myself against going too far; but I did not at all know that male & female butterflies haunted rather different sites. If I had to cut up myself in a Review, I would have worked & quizzed Sexual selection; therefore, though I am fully convinced that it is largely true, you may imagine how pleased I am at what you say on your belief. This part of your letter to me is a quintessence of richness. The fact about Butterflies attracted by coloured sepals is another good fact, worth its weight in Gold. It would have delighted the heart of old Christian C. Sprengel, now many years in his grave. I am glad to hear that you have specially attended to "mimetic" analogies- a most curious subject. I hope you will publish on it. I have for a long time wished to know whether what Dr. Collingwood asserts, is true, that the most striking cases generally occur between insects inhabiting the same country. Believe me, Yours most truly obliged, Ch. Darwin" Letter, signed by sender. Sent from Down House, near Beckenham, Kent, England.The Robert M. Stecher Collection of Charles Darwin Books and Manuscript
Letter from Charles Darwin to John Brodie Innes [2870]
No full textTranscription:"Dear Innes, Thanks for Coal-bill which I will pay as soon as I get home in about 10 days time. I am sincerely sorry to hear so poor an account of Mrs. Innes. We moved Etty here with much difficulty a fortnight ago, & she has improved very little, but thank God she has improved a little. She now can generally sit up for above 1⁄2 hour twice a day. I have been a good deal knocked up of late & have had to recur to Water-cure; but all our anxiety with Etty ill for 12 weeks has been enough to knock us up. But my wife has stood the incessant nursing wonderfully. Women are so good & unselfish, that helping others seems to do them good. Our plans are utterly Uncertain; we hope to take Etty to sea, whenever she is strong enough; but where & when are both quite unknown to us. What a wandering life you have been leading! We shall be very glad to see you at Down. I enquired (not alluding to you) about Mr Ainslie's house, but can hear nothing whatever. Parslow asked Mr Baxter, but he knew nothing. Farewell with our kind remembrances to Mrs. Innes— believe me, Dear Innes, Yours very sincerely, C. Darwin I hope from your note that Johnny is tolerably well." Letter, signed by sender. Sent from Miss Wedgwoods, Hartfield, Tonbridge Wells, England. Envelope included.The Robert M. Stecher Collection of Charles Darwin Books and Manuscript
Letter from Charles Darwin to John Brodie Innes [2912]
No full textTranscription:"Dear Innes. I am very sorry to say that I fear we shall not see you when you come to Keston, for we have almost made up our minds to be off next week to sea-side for a month to see what the change will do for Etty, though I have not much hope. Your account of the Donkey has interested me much & would you be so kind as to have another look at it & observe whether its eyes are pink; but as you say it is rather cream-coloured than white, it probably is not an albino. Did the owner rear it; if so please ask him whether it was born of same colour & had then no stripes. Anytime will do for an answer. I am sorry to hear about your house difficulties. Dear Innes, Ever yours very truly, C. Darwin" Letter, signed by sender. Sent from Down House, near Beckenham, Kent, England.The Robert M. Stecher Collection of Charles Darwin Books and Manuscript
Letter from Charles Darwin to John Brodie Innes [2962]
No full textTranscription:"Dear Innes Very many thanks for your kind note & all the trouble you have taken for me. Etty progressed very well here for 4 weeks, but I am sure that you will sympathise with us, when you hear that she had a terrible attack of sickness on Monday & which has not yet ceased. She is much prostrated & what the end will be, we know not. My poor wife is much knocked up. I am very glad you give a good of Johnny. Yours most truly, C. Darwin" Letter, signed by sender. Sent from Down House, near Beckenham, Kent, England.The Robert M. Stecher Collection of Charles Darwin Books and Manuscript