60 GROWTH OF THE 'ORIGIN.' [1855, 



my opinion " on the retrograde step," * and I deserved a good 

 snub, and upon reflection I am very glad you did not answer 

 me in the Gardeners" Chronicle. 



I have been very much interested with the Florula. f 



[Writing on June 5th to Sir J. D. Hooker, my father 

 mentions a letter from Dr. Asa Gray. The letter referred to 

 was an answer to the following :] 



C. Darwin to Asa Gray.\ 



Down, April 25th [1855]. 



MY DEAR SIR, I hope that you will remember that I had 

 the pleasure of being introduced to you at Kew. I want to 

 beg a great favour of you, for which I well know I can offer 

 no apology. But the favour will not, I think, cause you much 

 trouble, and will greatly oblige me. As I am no botanist, it 

 will seem so absurd to you my asking botanical questions ; 

 that I may premise that I have for several years been collect- 

 ing facts on " variation," and when I find that any general 

 remark seems to hold good amongst animals, I try to test 

 it in Plants. [Here follows a request for information on 

 American Alpine plants, and a suggestion as to publishing 

 on the subject.] I can assure you that I perceive how pre- 

 sumptuous it is in me, not a botanist, to make even the most 



* " To imagine such enormous plants introduced in imported wool, 



geological changes within the period % The well-known American 



of the existence of now living beings, Botanist. My father's friendship 



on no other ground but to account with Dr. Gray began with the cor- 



for their distribution, seems to me, respondence of which the present is 



in our present state of ignorance the first letter. An extract from a 



on the means of transportal, an letter to Sir J. Hooker, 1857, shows 



almost retrograde step in science." that my father's strong personal 



Extract from the paper on ' Salt regard for Dr. Gray had an early 



Water and Seeds ' in the Gardeners' origin : " I have been glad to see 



Chronicle, May 26, 1855. A. Gray's letters; there is always 



f Godron's ' Florula Juvenalis,' something in them that shows that 



which gives an interesting accoun t of he is a very lovable man." 





