RECORD: Darwin, C. R. 1890. [Letter to J. S. Henslow, 25 July 1845]. Darwin on allotments. Croydon Advertiser and East Surrey Reporter (29 March): 3.

REVISION HISTORY: Transcribed by Christine Chua and edited by John van Wyhe. 12.2019. RN1

NOTE: See record in the Freeman Bibliographical Database, enter its Identifier here. The complete letter, from a copy, is in Correspondence vol. 3, p. 228.


[page] 3

CHARLES DARWIN ON ALLOTMENTS.

In a sale of autographs to take place in London in May, the following letter from Charles Darwin, dated from Bromley, Kent, July 25th, 1845, will be amongst the collection:—"My dear Henslow—I sincerely hope that your allotments will succeed. All that I have read in German of them sounds encouraging, and I have never been convinced by what has been written against them. I have bought a farm in Lincolnshire, and when I go there this autumn I mean to see what I can do in providing any cottages on my small estate with gardens. It is a hopeless thing to look to, but I believe few things would do this country more good in future ages than the destruction of primogeniture, so as to lessen the difference in land-wealth and make more small freeholders. How atrociously unjust are the stamp laws, which render it so expensive for the poor man to buy his quarter of an acre. It makes one's blood burn with indignation."

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Citation: John van Wyhe, ed. 2002-. The Complete Work of Charles Darwin Online. (http://darwin-online.org.uk/)

File last updated 25 September, 2022