WCP1479

To Thistelton-Dyer¹, Esq.) Pen-y-bryn, St.Peter's Road, Croydon.

Jan'y 7th. 1881

Dear Mr. Thistelton-Dyer

If I had had your lecture before me when writing the last chapters of my book I should certainly have quoted you in support of the view of the northern origin of the southern f flora by migration along existing continents. On reading it again I am surprised to find how often you refer to this; but when I read it on its first appearance I did not pay special attention to this point except to note that your view aggreed [sic] more closely with those I had advanced, derived from the Distribution of Animals², than those of any previous writer on Botanical distribution. When, at a much later period — on coming to the end of my work I determined to give a chapter to the N[ew] Zealand flora in order to see how far the geological & physical relations between N[ew] Zealand and Australia would throw light on its origin, I went for my facts to the works of Sir Joseph Hooker³ & Mr. Bentham⁴, and also to your article in the Enc[yclopedia] Brit[annica], and worked out my conclusions solely from these, & from the few facts which I had collected referring to the migration of plants which I had collected. Had I referred again to your lecture I should certainly have quoted the cases you give (in a note p. 431) of plants extending along the Andes from California to Peru & Chile, & vice versa. Whatever identity there is in our views was therefore arrived at independently, and it was an oversight on my part not referring to your views, — partly due to your not having made them a more prominent feature of your very interesting & instructive lecture. Working as I do at home, I am obliged to get my facts from the few books I can get together; and I only attempted to deal with these great botanical questions because the facts seemed sufficiently broad and definite not to be much affected by errors of detail or recent additions to our knowledge, & because the view which I took of the past changes in Australia & N[ew] Zealand seemed calculated to throw so much light u upon them. Without such splendid summaries of the relations of the Southern floras as are given in Sir J. Hooker's "Introductions⁵", I should not have touched the subject at all; and I venture to hope that you or some of your colleagues will give us other such summaries, brought down to the present date, of other important "Floras", [2] — as for example those of S. Africa and S. Temperate America.

Many thanks for additional peculiar British Plants. When I hear what Mr. Mitten⁶ has to say about the mosses &c. I should like to send a corrected list to "Nature⁷", which I shall ask you to be so good as to give a final look over.

Believe me Yours very faithfully Alfred R.Wallace.

P.S. Mr. Darwin⁸ strongly objects to my view of the migration of plants along mountain-ranges, rather than along lowlands during cold periods. This latter view seems to me as difficult and inadequate as mine does to him. A.R.W.

(1)¹

To Thistelton-Dyer, Esq.) Pen-y-bryn, St.Peter’s Road, Croydon.

Jan’y 7th. 1881

Dear Mr. Thistelton-Dyer

If I had your lecture before me when writing the last chapters of my book I should certainly have quoted you in support of the view of the northern origin of the southern f flora by migration along existing continents. On reading it again I am surprised to find how often you refer to this, but when I read it on its first appearance I did not pay special attention to this point except to note that your views² aggreed³ more closely with those I had advanced, derived from the Distribution of Animals, than those of any previous writer on Botanical distribution. When, at a much later period — on coming to the end of my work I determined to give a chapter to the N.Zealand flora in order to see how far the geologi-cal⁴ & physical relations between N.Zealand and Australia would throw light on its origin, I went for my facts to the works of Sir Joseph Hooker⁵ & Mr. Bentham⁶, and also to your article⁷ in the Enc.Britt.⁸, and worked out my conclusions solely from these, & from the few facts which I had collected referring to the migration of plants which I had collected. Had I referred again to your lecture I should cer-tainly⁹ have quoted the cases you give (in a note p. 451) of plants extending along the Andes from California to Peru & Chile, & vice versâ¹⁰. Whatever identity there is in our views was therefore arrived at independently, and it wa[s]¹¹ an oversight on my part not referring to your views,- partly due to your not having made them a more promi-nent¹² feature of your ver[y]¹³ interesting & instructive lecture. Working as I do at home, I am obliged to get my facts from the few books I can get together, and I only attempted to deal with these great bota-nical¹⁴ questions because the facts seemed sufficiently broad & de-finite¹⁵ not to be such a[f]fected¹⁶ by e[r]rors¹⁷ of detail or recent additions to our knowledge, & because the view which I took of the past changes in Australia & N.Zealand seemed calculated to throw so much light a upon them. Without such splendid summaries of the relations of the Southern floras as are given in Sir J.Hooker’s "Introductions", I should not have touched the subject at all, and I venture to hope that you or some of your colleagues will give us other such sum-maries¹⁸, brought down to the present date, of other important "Floras", [2]¹⁹ — as for example those of S.Africa and S.Temperate America/ Many thanks for additional peculiar British Plants. When I hear what Mr.Mitten²⁰ has to say about the mosses &c. I should like to send a corrected list to "Nature"²¹, which I shall ask you to be so good as to give a final look over.

Believe me | Yours very faithfully | Alfred R.Wallace.

P.S. Mr. Darwin strongly objects to my view of the migration of plants along mountain-ranges, rather than along lowlands during cold periods. This latter view seems to me as difficult and inadequate as mine does to his. A.R.W.

[1] [p. 34]

Pen-y-bryn, St. Peter's Road, Croydon. January 7, 1881.

Dear Mr. Thiselton-Dyer, — If I had had your lecture before me when writing the last chapters of my book¹ I should certainly have quoted you in support of the view of the northern origin of the Southern flora by migration along existing continents. On reading it again I am surprised to find how often you refer to this, but when I read it on its first appearance I did not pay special attention to this point except to note that your views agreed more closely with those I had advanced, derived from the distribution of animals, than those of any previous writer on botanical distribution. When, at a much later period, on coming to the end of my work, I determined to give a chapter to the New Zealand flora in order to see how far the geological and physical relations between New Zealand and Australia would throw light on its origin, I went for my facts to the works of Sir Joseph Hooker² and Mr. Bentham,³ and also to your article in the "Encyclopaedia Britannica,"⁴ and worked out my conclusions solely from these, and from the few facts referring to the migration of plants which I had collected. Had I referred again to your lecture I should certainly have quoted the cases you give in a note, p.431) of plants extending along the Andes from California to Peru and Chile, and vice versa. Whatever identity there is in our views was therefore arrived at independently, and it was an oversight on my part not referring to your views, partly due to your not having made them a more prominent feature of your very interesting and instructive lecture. Working as I do at home, I am obliged to get my facts from the few books I can get together; and I only attempted to deal with these great botanical questions because the facts seemed sufficiently broad and definite not to be much affected by errors of detail or recent additions to our [2] [p. 35] knowledge, and because the view which I took of the past changes in Australia and New Zealand seemed calculated to throw so much light upon them. Without such splendid summaries of the relations of the Southern floras as are given in Sir J. Hooker's Introductions, I should not have touched the subject at all; and I venture to hope that you or some of your colleagues will give us other such summaries, brought down to the present date, of other important florasas, for example, those of South Africa and South Temperate America.

Many thanks for additional peculiar British plants. When I hear what Mr. Mitten⁵ has to say about the mosses, etc., I should like to send a corrected list to Nature,⁶ which I shall ask you to be so good as to give a final look over. — Believe me yours very faithfully, | ALFRED R. WALLACE.

P.S.— Mr. Darwin⁷ strongly objects to my view of the migration of plants along mountain-ranges, rather than along lowlands during cold periods. This latter view seems to me as difficult and inadequate as mine does to him. — A. R. W.