Terrific LS, three pages on two adjoining sheets, 5 x 8, Down, Beckenham, Kent letterhead, June 5, 1878. Letter to Ferdinand Julius Cohn, in full: "It was exceedingly kind of you to send me so interesting a letter. I will forward it to my son Francis, who has gone to Germany for 2 months, & he will particularly like to read your letter. I have been tho more interested by your details, as I published (Gardener's Chronicle Jan. 5 1861 p. 4) a short note with a rude drawing of the Achenes of the Australian Pumilio argyrolepis, which are of a curious shape, like the foot of a man. If they fall laterally on a damp surface, the exuded mucilage in drying, draws them upright, so that they appear as if gummed with great care to the surface. I afterwards heard that Decaisne has published a paper on the subject in the Ann. des Sciences; & after reading it, looked at the Achenes of Senecio & some other compositae; but I did not make out the details which you so clearly describe & figure. I have placed some of the seeds from your packet, under the microscope, but have as yet failed to see the viscid threads. Possibly this particular lot of seed may not have been quite ripe; for I cannot understand why I now fail to see what I formerly saw." In fine condition.
Francis Darwin had gone to study in Julius Sach's laboratory in Wurzburg, Germany. The recipient, Ferdinand Cohn (1828-1898) was a German biologist who is regarded as one of the founders of modern bacteriology and microbiology. He spent several years invested in botany and studying the growth and division of plant cells before turning his focus to bacteria. Cohn was the first to classify algae as plants, and to define what distinguishes them from green plants, and his classification of bacteria into four groups based on shape (sphericals, short rods, threads, and spirals) is still in use today. An exceptional letter boasting a large, neat signature of Charles Darwin.
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