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A Letter from the late Charles Darwin.

We are kindly permitted to copy the following letter, recently received by Prof. J. E. Todd, from Mr. Darwin, which derives special interest from the fact of its having been written just a week previous to that distinguished scientist's death. The paper referred to in the letter is a monograph published in the American Naturalist for April, 1882, and is a valuable contribution to the study of cross-fertilization in plants, a subject to which Prof. Todd has given considerable special attention and which is closely connected with the line of Mr. Darwin's investigation.

DOWN, BECKENHAM, KENT

April 10, 1882.

DEAR SIR:—I hope that you will excuse the liberty which as a stranger I take in begging a favor of you.

I have read with unusual interest your very interesting paper in the American Naturalist on the structure of the flowers of Solanum rostratum, and I should be grateful if you would send me some seed in a small box (telling me whether to plant in as annual, so that I may know when to sow the seeds), in order that I may have the pleasure of seeing the flowers and experimenting on them. But if you intend to experiment on them, of course you will not send me the seeds, as I should be very unwilling to interfere in any way with your work. I should also rather like to look at flowers of Cassia chamœcrista.

Many years ago I tried some experiments in a remotely analagous case and this year am trying others. I described what I was doing to Dr. Fritz Muller, of Brazil, and he has told me that he believes that in certain plants producing two sets of anthers of a different colour, the bees collect the pollen from one of the sets alone. He would therefore be much interested in your paper, if you have a spare copy that you could send him. I think, but my memory now often fails me, that he has published on the subject in Kosmos.

Hoping that you will excuse me, I remain, dear sir,

Yours faithfully,

(Signed,) CH. DARWIN.