Sir
I cannot see how the following passages ⟨w⟩hich appear in the Origin of Species on pages 86 & 89 respectively of the six⟨th⟩ Edition, can be reconciled.2
1 p. 86 And we have seen that it is the most closely allied forms— varieties of the same species, & species ⟨of the sa⟩me genus or of re⟨lat⟩ed genera,—which from having nearly the same structure, constitution & habits, gener⟨a⟩lly come into the severest competition with each other.3
2. p. 89. But it ⟨is seen⟩, that where they come into the ⟨clo⟩sest competition the advantages of diversification of the structure, with the accompanying differences of habit & consti⟨tution⟩ determine that the inhabitants, which thus jostle each other most closely, shall, as ⟨a⟩ general rule belong to what we ⟨ca⟩ll different genera & orders.
I suppose you have not time ⟨to⟩ reply to this.
Yrs. obediently | F. S. Arnold
C. D⟨arw⟩in Esqr. M.A.
Please cite as “DCP-LETT-11775,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on