Ɛpsilon

To J. T. Gulick   8 August [1872]

Down, | Beckenham, Kent.

Aug. 8th

My dear Sir

Our notes crossed on the road. On reflection I do not think I can do anything about your paper.1 The Secretarys act somewhat like judges & might properly demur to any suggestion being made to them.2 Moreover in this special case, they might say, with perfect truth, that I should prejudiced in favour of your subject.— I know so little about the proceedings of the B. Assoc. that I really cannot form any opinion, whether the Sec.s. would consider your paper too theoretical. I imagine that they do not decide what papers to read until each day arrives & they can see what time there is, & how many papers have been sent in.—3

My dear Sir | Yours sincerely | Ch. Darwin

Postmark: AU 8 72

3
Gulick’s paper was presented in the biology section at the 1872 meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science; however, no abstract was printed (see Report of the 42d meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science (1872), p. 136). The paper was later published in the Journal of the Linnean Society (Zoology) (J. T. Gulick 1872b). CD’s annotated copy is in the Darwin Library–CUL (collection of unbound journals).

Manuscript Alterations and Comments

1.3 being] interl

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-8457,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-8457