Darwin, the Hookers, Patrick Matthew and the Crab Apple Tree Connection

In 1844 Darwin and his wife Emma met William and Joseph Hooker (who were very well known to John Loudon, John Lindley, Jameson and Wallace) for an evening at Kew. Their transcribed correspondence  (see also ar Darwin Online) reveals that they discussed crab apples. Darwin would later hide behind Emma in his correspondence to Matthew. And Hooker and Darwin agreed that only naturalists with specific collecting and species classification experience such as they, excluding others such as Matthew, should be allowed to write on the subject of transmutation of species,

In Nullius (Sutton 2014) I explain the importance of crab apple trees as an explanatory analogy of differences for the difference between natural and artificially selected varities of  plants and animals and how those long selected by nature are far better able to survive in the wild than those selected by human breeding (artificial slection) interference. Being an internationally famous apple grower and breeder in the 19th century, Matthew mentions crab apple trees in this regard quite a lot in his (1831) book - On Naval Timber - which is the the first publication of the full hypothesis of macro evolution by natural selection.

Matthew (1831) was the first to write the artificial v natural selection explanatory of differences. It is so important that Wallace used it in his (1858) Ternate Paper and Darwin used it to open the very first chapter of the Origin of Species.

In Nullius, I also discuss how fruit trees were the very first thing that Darwin wrote about organic evolution in his 1837-38 private Zoonomia notebook, and how his notebook of books read reveals that pre-1858 held in his hands five publications - including one all about apples written by Matthew - citing Matthew's work on fruit breeding and trees. Darwin (1837-1838)  being no expert could not even consistently spell pippin correctly.The plodding replicator wrote:

‘Never They die, without they change; like Golden Pippens it is a generation of species like generation of individuals.’

Darwin spelled pippin correctly elsewhere in his Zoonomia notebook. Searching on the term within his notebook reveals just how important the example of elected apples was in influencing his thinking

On page 72 he wrote: 

'If species generate other species, their race is not utterly cut off; — like golden pippen, if produced by seed go on. — otherwise all die. — The fossil horse generated in S. Africa Zebra — & continued. — perished in America'

On page 220 Darwin (1837-38) writes about crab apples:

'Important. For instance take Valvata & Conus (??) which now run together; were not both genera formerly abundant.

Seed of Ribston Pippin tree go producing crab is the offspring of a male & female animal of one variety going back ? Whether this going back may not be owing to cross from other trees????'

On page 230:

'Do the seeds of Ribston Pippin & Golden Pippin &c produce real crabs, & in each case similar or mere mongrels?

It really would be worth trying to isolate some plants under glass bells & see what offspring would come from them. Ask Henslow for some plants whose seeds go back again, not a monstrous plant, but any marked variety. — Strawberry produced by seeds?? '

Matthew was world famous for owning a Golden Pippin apple tree grown from seed and Darwin (pre 1858) owned a copy of the publication containing Matthew's article on it. The famous botanist Hogg wrote about it (here).

William Lawrence hinted at organic evolution, mentioning crab apples. Therefore, it is quite possible his work would have influenced Matthew - Here.  In the same blog post, I include a reference to Erasmus Darwin (Darwin's grandfather's) interest in crab apples and Golden Pippins. This work may have influenced both Charles Darwin and Patrick Matthew, but neither cited it. I conclude my blog post on the topic that it seems - on the available evidence - that Matthew was influenced by Erasmus Darwin's observations on crab apples and grafting. 

In Nullius I reveal that there was a copy of Matthew's (1831) book in the library at Kew, but that a librarian there, searching for it at my request, informed me this valuable book was "missing" and so had been, apparently, stolen. Hence, we may never know whether it was one of the books William Hooker donated to the library pre-1858.