Hooker’s imprisonment.
Birth of Leonard Darwin.
Barnacles will never end; on to fossils.
Showing 1–20 of 201 items
Hooker’s imprisonment.
Birth of Leonard Darwin.
Barnacles will never end; on to fossils.
On Himalayan stratigraphy. Believes JDH’s observations of glacial action are the first ever done east of Urals.
Barnacles and the species theory; impressed with variation.
Effect of CD’s species sketch on JDH’s view of willow systematics.
Questions on variation in nature: taxa varying in one region but not another. Variation between vs within species. Rarity of variation in important organs within a species. G. R. Waterhouse’s views on variation in highly developed organs, which CD relates to variation in rudimentary organs.
Asks for cases of obligate self-fertilising plants.
[CD annotation proposes using the Steudel Nomenclator botanicus (1821–4) to determine if variable species occur in genera with many species.]
Detailed response to MS of introductory essay to [The botany of the Antarctic voyage, pt II] Flora Novae-Zelandiae [1853–5]. CD will curse JDH when, in a year or two, he is at his species book, for "having put so many hostile facts so confoundedly well".
Further response to MS of introductory essay to Flora Novae-Zelandiae.
Disbelieving in permanence of species has made little difference to CD in his barnacle work.
Returning JDH’s MS and books.
Reading Mrs Gaskell’s Ruth [1853].
Edward Sabine’s official letter announcing CD’s receipt of Royal Society Medal left him cold. JDH’s informal one moved him.
Applauds JDH for supporting John Lindley.
Has received JDH’s book [Himalayan journals (1854)]. Is very gratified by the dedication to him.
Thanks JDH for dedication of Himalayan journals. CD praises the work and suggests stylistic revisions.
Lyell’s remarks on lava beds in letter from Madeira are not original – they refer exclusively to Élie de Beaumont’s data.
More praise for Himalayan journals.
How remote was glacial action in Himalayas?
Implies Himalayas were birthplace of many plants.
Final volume of Cirripedia to be printed in two or three months.
CD welcomes the prospect of the Philosophical Club of the Royal Society as means for seeing old acquaintances and making new ones. Will try to go up to London regularly.
Admits that the warning from JDH and Asa Gray (that more harm than good will come from combat over the species issue) makes him feel "deuced uncomfortable".
Reflects upon the complexity of Agassiz; how singular that a man of his eminence and immense knowledge "should write such wonderful stuff & bosh".
CD gives his definition of "highness" and "lowness" as "morphological differentiation" from a common embryo or archetype. JDH’s view, with which CD agrees when it can be applied, is the same as Milne-Edwards’, i.e., the physiological division of labour. There is little agreement among zoologists and CD admits his own lack of clarity.
CD "lectures" JDH on taking care of his health.
CD’s pleasure in London trip.
CD and Emma have taken season tickets to Crystal Palace.
Edward Forbes’s "Introductory Lecture" is the best CD ever read.
CD’s view requires only that ancient organisms resemble embryological stages of existing ones. Thus "highness" in plants is difficult to evaluate because they have no larval stages. Would compare highest members of two groups, rather than archetype, to determine which group was higher. Against Forbes’s polarity and parallelism.
On individuality.
Huxley’s review exquisite, but too severe on Vestiges; sorry for ridicule of Agassiz’s embryonic fishes.
Stonesfield mammals.
J. O. Westwood deserves Royal Society Medal.
Will begin species work in a few days.
Congratulates JDH on receipt of Royal Medal.
CD gathering facts on aberrant genera of insects.
Calculating small number of species in aberrant genera of insects and plants.
Joachim Barrande’s "Colonies", Élie de Beaumont’s "lines of Elevation", Forbes’s "Polarity" make CD despair, as these theories lead to conclusions opposite to CD’s from the same classes of facts.
JDH’s "grand speech" on receiving the Royal Medal.
Is Bentham’s list of aberrant genera biased by exclusion of genera with many species?
JDH’s belief that Aquilegia varieties are one species is consistent with their great interfertility.
Debates aberrant species, e.g., Ornithorhynchus and Echidna, with JDH. CD argues they are result of extinction having removed intermediate links to allied forms.
Studying effects of disuse in wings of tame and wild ducks.
Tabulations showing that number of species in a genus is not correlated with number of genera in an order.