[[1]]

Kew

Nov 13/[18]66

Dear [Asa] Gray

I take up my pen to write you when the spirit moves me -- it should have done so weeks ago to answer yours of 9th October, now added to by yours of Oct[ober] 29th. It will be simply disgusting if my Peabody letter was shown to you & nothing done, it never was intended for your eyes or knowledge, & if nothing is done I shall make that an excuse for following it up. I shall be glad when the new ed[ition] of Manual is out, the labor[sic] of revision is terrible, & the sources of error great. I find this the N.Z. Manual now at a close: if ever I try Cryptog[am]s again you may scold me for it! They are hopeless, -- in all my life I never saw such such a mess as all are in except Algae -- thanks to dear Harvey. These Irish are terrible, I cannot get the mss of "Genera of Cape Plants" out of the

[[2]] hands of the executors, though they all know & wish me to publish them! There never was such a nation for utter want of business habits: poor Mr H[arvey?] simply collapses & does nothing. Todhunter is a good man, but too ignorant of science even to look after the books mss &c &c -- Nothing is settled as to herb[ariu]m or professorship. Lyell promised me that he would write to Tichtner[?] & so I suppose he did so. He was much interested.

I have not seen young Lefever of for an age. He was a very nice promising young man. Earnest thoughtful industrious & conscientious -- he is of an excellent stock.

We are all in a great way here at Muller again*1 clapping his name to every old species that he adds a synonym to. Bentham wrote remonstrating to ADC [Alphonse De Candolle], who answers that it was done at his advice! & justifies it on the score that as everyone's opinion of species differs, whoever alters the limits of one should call it his own -- By the same token who--ever[sic] adds a specimen or alters a character should do so too -- & every species added to a genus should require similar treatment of the genus. What disgusts me is that De Candolle should do such things on h<is> own authority without consulting any other Botanist, it is on a par with his consummate vanity in taking the Pres. of the Bot[anical] Congress. Any such important change inaugurated by a man in his position should be well considered by his friends as well as himself. ADC says he did it himself in one or two cases of the Oaks, -- I have not observed this. Every improvement I have prepared in the Prodromus [Prodromus Systematis Naturalis Regni Vegetabilis] has been opposed by him on the ground that the existing system plan of the work, even to minute details of type must not be altered, & now here he introduces a radical change without even an explanation. I hate such ways. I revert to my opinion that ADC is a very narrow--minded man.

Munro reads his paper on Bambuseae tomorrow night at L.S.[Linnean Society] -- a very laborous[sic] & valuable one I fancy. I do not know of much else in store for the Soc[iety], but Triana's paper on Melastoma, which will give the right place & synonymy to every species! That will be a blessing; he is a capital worker, but cannot describe.

Mr J[?] Morse & Sons of Boston called here the other day. Apparently very nice people. I continue to read the Nation regularly & with great interest. I am so glad that it is the Tories who are going to take up the Alabama case, though a Whig myself (if anything), I always believe that the

[[3]] Tories & aristocracy generally had better & wiser ideas during the American War than Goldwin Smith &c. gave them credit for. I have no hesitation in thinking that the honor[sic] of our uppermost Tory classes is of a higher order than of the middle. Just as their Vices are more conspicuous -- they can afford to be more high--minded, just as they can afford to commit sins that damn a lower class, and upon whole I suspect they are less vicious than the middle class & infinitely less than the lower. Indeed upon justified ground I have stated before -- (Natural selection, & a continued success my attending honesty), I think it should be so.

Did you ever read that painful book Malthus on population, I did the other day, & was painfully impressed by it. I had supposed he was a sort of materialist, who advised the checking of population by restrictive increases & was surprised to find nothing of the sort & a rather fine exordium at the end on a future state & the benefits of Xtincity [extinction?]! His arguments seem incontrovertible to me. Darwin’s new Ed[ition] is out. I have heard nothing of him lately.

I am so glad that Mrs Gray is better, our affectionate regards to her. My wife is well & promises me an addition in January. *2 You have I suppose Gambardella's portrait of my father & mezzotint engraving of the picture in Linn[ean] Soc[iety Transactions] -- & the little ugly lithograph of Dr Brownfield

Ever y[our] aff[ectionate] J.D. Hooker [signature].

ENDNOTES

1. The word “again” is written in pencil above the text at this point to clarify Hooker's spelling which reads as "aegan".

2. The text which runs from here until the end of the letter is written vertically up the left margin of page 1.

Please note that work on this transcript is ongoing. Users are advised to study electronic image(s) of this document where possible.