1 847.] H. c. WATSON. 355 



' Phytologist.' You ought to encourage him to publish on 

 variation ; it is a shame that such facts as those in his letter 

 should remain unpublished. I must get you to introduce me 

 to him ; would he be a good and sociable man for Dropmore ?* 

 though if he comes, Forbes must not (and I think you talked 

 of inviting Forbes), or we shall have a glorious battle. I 

 should like to see sometime the war correspondence. Have 

 you the ' Phytologist,' and could you sometime spare it ; I 

 would go through it quickly. ... I have read your last five 

 numbers,! and as usual have been much interested in several 

 points, especially with your discussions on the beech and 

 potato. I see you have introduced several sentences against 

 us Transmutationists. I have also been looking through the 

 latter volumes of the ' Annals of Natural History/ and have 



read two such soulless, pompous papers of , quite worthy 



of the author. . . . The contrast of the papers in the Annals 

 with those in the Annales is rather humiliating; so many 

 papers in the former, with short descriptions of species, with- 

 out one word on their affinities, internal structure, range, or 



habits. I am now reading , and I have picked out some 



things which have interested me ; but he strikes me as rather 

 dullish, and with all his Materia Medica smells of the doctor's 

 shop. I shall ever hate the name of the Materia Medica, 

 since hearing Duncan's lectures at eight o'clock on a winter's 

 morning a whole, cold, breakfastless hour on the properties 

 of rhubarb ! 



I hope your journey will be very prosperous. Believe me, 



my dear Hooker, 



Ever yours, 



C. DARWIN. 



P.S. I think I have only made one new acquaintance 

 of late, that is, R. Chambers ; and I have just received a 



* A much enjoyed expedition 1847. 



made from Oxford when the f Of the Botany of Hooker's 



British Association met there in ' Antarctic Voyage.' 



VOL. I. 2 B 



