Volume I Part 42 (1/2)

CHARLES DARWIN TO JD HOOKER Down, August [1857]

My dear Hooker,

It is a horrid bore you cannot come soon, and I reproach myself that I did not write sooner How busy you must be! with such a heap of botanists at Kew Only think, I have just had a letter fro he will corand? Many thanks about Furnrohr I must huot Boreau for , according toany varieties marked by Greek letters or otherwise: the result (as far as I have yet gone) seeuments I have yet met with, that varieties are only sly marked varieties The subject is in many ways so very important for me; I wish much you would think of any orked Floras with froood to have hair-splitters and lumpers (Those who make many species are the ”splitters,” and those who :--

Babington

Henslow

British Flora London Catalogue HC Watson

Boreau France

Miquel Holland

Asa Gray NU States

Hooker New Zealand

Fragment of Indian Flora

Wollaston Madeira insects

Has not Koch published a good German Flora? Does he mark varieties?

Could you send it rand Russian Flora, which perhaps has varieties ht to be well known

I am in no hurry for a feeeks Will you turn this in your head when, if ever, you have leisure? The subject is very ih I clearly see MANY causes of error

CHARLES DARWIN TO ASA GRAY Down, February 21st [1859]

My dear Gray,

My last letter begged no favour, this one does: but it will really cost you very little trouble to answer toto a remark gested to hi you, and I told hienerally believe Hooker implicitly, but he is sometimes, I think, and he confesses it, rather over critical, and his ingenuity in discovering flaws seeood botanists in drawing up a local Flora, whether s a Prodromus like De Candolle's, would almost universally, but unintentionally and unconsciously, tend to record (ie,short characters) varieties in the large or in the senera?

Or would the tendency be to record the varieties about equally in genera of all sizes? Are you yourself conscious on reflection that you have attended to, and recorded e or s and trifling things varieties very often are; butand recording If you could screw time to send me ever so brief an answer to this, pretty soon, it would be a great service to ed, CH DARWIN

PS--Do you knohether any one has ever published any ree of varieties of plants in co? I have in vain tried to get soue idea, and with the exception of a little inforiven me by Mr Watson in a paper on Land Shells in United States, I have quite failed; but perhaps it would be difficult for you to give me even a brief answer on this head, and if so I am not so unreasonable, I assURE YOU, as to expect it

If you are writing to England soon, you could enclose other letters [for] me to forward

Please observe the question is not whether there are enera, but whether there is a stronger or weaker tendency in the enera

CHARLES DARWIN TO JD HOOKER Down, May 6th [1858]