DCP-LETT-402.xml

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            <title xml:id="main_title">From William Fullerton Lindsay-Carnegie to Charles Lyell<ref target="#foot.f1"/> [14 February 1838]</title>
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        <publicationStmt>
            <authority>Darwin Correspondence Project</authority>
            <publisher>Cambridge University Press</publisher>
            <pubPlace>Cambridge</pubPlace>
            <idno type="lognum">16383</idno>
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                <p>Zooming image © Cambridge University Library, All rights reserved.</p>
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                <licence target="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/">This metadata is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.</licence>
            </availability>
            <date when="1987">1987</date>
        </publicationStmt>
        <seriesStmt>
            <title level="s">The Correspondence of Charles Darwin</title>
            <biblScope unit="vol" n="02">2</biblScope>
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            <bibl type="provenance" resp="#mjhawkins" cert="high">DAR 170: 3</bibl>
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                    <idno>170: 3</idno>
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                        <note type="physdesc" n="ALS">5pp †(by CD)</note>
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                <persName key="../nameregs/nameregs_2936.xml">Lindsay-Carnegie, W. F.</persName>
                <placeName>Edinburgh</placeName>
                <date when="1838-02-14">[14 Feb 1838]</date>
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            <correspAction type="received">
                <persName key="../nameregs/nameregs_3051.xml">Lyell, Charles</persName>
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        <abstract>
            <p>Impressed by CD’s theory [of earthworm action].</p>
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                <term type="animals" ref="#">earthworm</term>
                <term type="people" ref="#subject_1">Darwin, C. R.</term>
                <term type="scientific_terms" ref="#">positive self-criticism</term>
                <term type="scientific_terms" ref="#">soil and other substrates</term>
                <term type="scientific_terms" ref="#">theory (including philosophy)</term>
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        <change when="2016-07-12" status="transcribed">Transcribed by <name xml:id="dcp">Darwin Correspondence Project</name></change>
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        <change when="2016-07-12" status="secondProofCompleted">Transcribed by <name sameAs="#dcp">Darwin Correspondence Project</name></change>
        <change when="2016-07-12" status="footnoted">Transcribed by <name sameAs="#dcp">Darwin Correspondence Project</name></change>
        <change when="2016-07-12" status="reviewed">Transcribed by <name sameAs="#dcp">Darwin Correspondence Project</name></change>
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        <change when="2016-07-12" status="copyedited">Transcribed by <name sameAs="#dcp">Darwin Correspondence Project</name></change>
        <change when="2016-07-12" type="letter" status="released">Transcription cleared for online release</change>
        <change when="2016-07-12" type="footnotes" status="released">Footnotes cleared for online release</change>
        <change when="2016-07-12">Converted to TEI P5 by <name xml:id="mjhawkins">Michael Hawkins</name></change>
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    <body><div type="letter">
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                <opener>
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                <div type="transcription">
                     
<p rend="right">23, Moray Place Edin<hi rend="superscript">br</hi>.</p>
<p>My Dear Sir</p>
<p>Your letter with its interesting accompaniment, having gone round by Kinblethmont,<ref target="#foot.f2"/> &amp; been detained there, has but just reached me. M<hi rend="superscript">r</hi> Darwin’s theory is I think, quite correct. I have observed much to confirm, and nothing to make it questionable. Independent of the geological deductions, to be derived from it, the discovery, may do much in an economical sense. Our farmers are persuaded, (universally) that lime has a tendency to <hi rend="underline">leek downwards,</hi> observing, that in unstirred pasture fields, I suppose, that it did so apparently, they argued that, à fortiori it would have a still greater propensity to do so, in their ploughed fields, and they put off applying their lime to the very last operation previous to laying down, thus, losing much of the advantages to be derived from a thorough intermixture. When I laid lime on an oatstubble in autumn some years ago, and ploughed it down, (thus bringing it into immediate contact, for a considerable time, with the dead vegetable, and securing besides the thorough mixing, through the means of all the subsequent operations of fallow,) I was considered to have committed a great fault, in consequence of this prejudice, but the result was eminently successful—and the practice <hi rend="underline">partially</hi> followed; by means of Mr Darwin’s observation I think the prejudice will be <hi rend="underline">entirely</hi> removed— In terring our quarries, I have frequently observed worms in their holes 7 to 8 feet below the surface where the black earth was about 2. ft. and the remainder strong tilly clay. in the latter they seldom seemed to proceed <anchor xml:id="ann.a1" type="annotationStart"/>straight to the utmost depth, but by  [DIAG HERE] a b c stages thus,— at the bottom c was invariably an enlarged chamber full of small sharp pebbles and other matters I noticed particularly the broken husks of flax seed, a &amp; b generally contained similar articles, but mixed with black earth— when a terring was completed, it often left many sections<anchor xml:id="ann.a2" type="annotationEnd"/> of these worm holes, and in a very short time tufts of grass began to grow, as this was in spring, it is plain the grass seeds, must have been there previously. the opinion of the workmen was, that the small stones had been passed thro’ the worms, as a condiment I suppose, but it appeared to me they <hi rend="underline">might</hi> have proceeded from the small heap which the worm gathers round the mouth of his hole in winter. In trying the refuse of flax, lately as a substitute for tar in one of my hothouses, I was surprised at the enormous quantity of worms which resulted, the mass became alive with them, had it been in China I could have made money by selling them by the hundred weight for these which <anchor xml:id="ann.a3" type="annotationStart"/>by the bye I am told are very palatable. I noticed many of them in the act of copulation and being no naturalist was surprized to see the number of little arms by which they held each other embraced. I suppose the anatomy of the worm and its habits are well understood but I have not met with any notice of them and would be glad if you could refer me to the best book on the subject.</p>
<p>I think I sent you a second specimen of the Cherubim being a broken bit of the wing, I think we have a third but tho’ very small, <hi rend="underline">still </hi> a bit of the turtles neck shield as we have found nothing of the large remaining part of his body, I am afraid on the doctrine of chances Agassiz supposition can hardly be right. Tho’ not inattentive we have got nothing more, but we are going to work on a larger scale &amp; in various localities this summer and I hope to have something of interest to send you— The sections made by our railroad are interesting I hope you will come and inspect them, making Kinblethmont y<hi rend="superscript">r</hi> headquarters. The line will be partially open in June and entirely so from Forfar to Dundee by September</p>
<p>We are here all well, for the winter, very glad to have escaped the snowing up at home—</p>
<p>Lady Jane<ref target="#foot.f3"/> begs to be very kindly remembered to M<hi rend="superscript">rs</hi> Lyell &amp; y<hi rend="superscript">r</hi>. sister and I remain</p>
<p>Y<hi rend="superscript">rs</hi> truly | W F Lindsay Carnegie<anchor xml:id="ann.a4" type="annotationEnd"/></p> 
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                <note> 1.10 laying] <hi rend="italic">underl pencil</hi> </note>
                <note> 1.17 terring] <hi rend="italic">underl pencil</hi> </note>
                <note target="#ann.a1" targetEnd="#ann.a2"><hi rend="italic">scored brown crayon</hi></note>
                <note target="#ann.a3" targetEnd="#ann.a4"><hi rend="italic">crossed ink</hi></note>
                <note> <hi rend="italic">On cover</hi>: ‘Rain— Washing | earth over surface’ <hi rend="italic">pencil</hi>, <hi rend="italic">circled pencil</hi> </note>
                <note> ‘Habits of worms’<hi rend="italic">pencil</hi> </note>
                <note> ‘L. Carnegie’<hi rend="italic">pencil</hi>; <hi rend="italic">above partially erased</hi>‘Carnegie’ </note>
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        </div><div type="footnotes">
            <note xml:id="foot.f1">CD incorporated information from this letter in a note, dated June 1838, which he added to the version of his paper ‘On the formation of mould’ printed in <hi rend="italic">Transactions of the Geological Society </hi> (<hi rend="italic">Collected papers</hi> 1: 53 n. 3). Lindsay-Carnegie’s observations were cited again by CD forty years later, in <hi rend="italic">Earthworms.</hi></note>
            <note xml:id="foot.f2">Kinblethmont, near Abroath, Forfarshire, was the seat of Lindsay-Carnegie.</note>
            <note xml:id="foot.f3">Lady Jane Christian Lindsay-Carnegie, daughter of the 7th Earl of Northesk, wife of Lindsay-Carnegie.</note>
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