 |
|
| Charles Darwin; evolution by natural selection by Sir Gavin de Beer (London: Thomas Nelson, 1963). | |
 |
|
|
|
|
These two letters, which Charles Darwin wrote to Dr John Denny in 1872, are excellent examples of his voluminous correspondence. Darwin rarely failed to get in touch with anyone likely to provide genetical data that could test or extend his understanding of evolutionary processes.
Dr Denny was a physician and a well-known breeder of Pelargoniums (geraniums). He published two articles on them in the Gardener's Chronicle (1872) Darwin's first letter is dated just three days later. The second letter suggests very tactfully that the control of pollination may have been inadequate.
These letters were bequeathed to Professor Geoff Baylis, Head of Botany, University of Otago, from 1945-1978, by Miss A Gedge, a descendant of Dr John Denny. They have recently been transferred from the Botany Department to the controlled environment of Special Collections.