[London,] 3 January 1868 

Dear Frep, 

Happy New Year! : 

I have only been ‘sitting up’ again for 3 days after lying all bent 
for so long. It was a nasty attack. You can judge this by the fact 
that for 3 weeks—no smoking! My head is still shaky. In a few 
days I hope to be back in action. 

I am absolutely opposed to arsenic. 

Enclosed the Beobachter*? (Lessner filched it for me from the 
Workers’ Society’). 

I have had no more letters from Siebel except the enclosed one 
to me. 

Meissner can always have a try with the Barmer.” It can do no 
harm. When you send the cuttings to Meissner, you must refer to 
them only as something which has come to hand, without 
explaining to him ‘our’ activity. Also draw his attention to the 
latest things in the Zukunft< 

I would like to know from Schorlemmer what is the latest and 
best book (German) on agricultural chemistry. Furthermore, what 
is the present state of the argument between the mineral-fertiliser 
people and the nitrogen-fertiliser people? (Since I last looked into 
the subject, all sorts of new things have appeared in Germany.) 
Does he know anything about the most recent Germans who have 
written against Liebig’s soil-exhaustion theory? Does he know 
about the alluvion theory of the Munich agronomist Fraas 
(Professor at Munich University)?4 For the chapter on ground 

a F, Engels, ‘Review of Volume One of Capital for the Beobachter’. - 6 Barmer 
Zeitung - © K. Marx, ‘Plagiarism’. - ¢ K. Fraas, Die Natur der Landwirthschaft. 

rent’ I shall have to be aware of the latest state of the question, 

at least to some extent. Since Schorlemmer is an expert on this 
subject he must be able to give information. Enclosed 2 
Urquharts* and 1 Courrier (because of Cluseret’s article). 

THE COMPLIMENTS OF THE SEASON TO Mrs Burns, Moore, ano Schor- 
lemmer. 

Your 
Moor 

[From Eleanor Marx, in English] 

You bad boy, why haven’t you answered my letters?—I suppose you and the 
hedgehog have been on the spree again. 

Alberich,» 
the grim dwarf 

Happy New Year.