WCP1880

Letter (WCP1880.1770)

[1]

Down.

Bromley.

Kent. S.E.

July 6 [1867]1

My dear Wallace

I am very much obliged for your article on mimicry,2 the whole of which I have read with the greatest interest. You certainly have the art of putting your ideas with remarkable force & clearness; now that I am slaving over proof sheets it makes me almost envious.

[2] I have been particularly glad to read about the bird’s nests, & I must procure the Intellectual Observer;3 but the point which I think struck me most was about it being of no use to the Heliconias to acquire in a slight degree a disagreeable taste.

What a curious case is that about the coral snakes. The summary & indeed the whole is excellent & I have enjoyed it much.

[3] With many thanks | yours very sincerely. | Ch. Darwin [signature]

1
A circled annotation adds '1867' in the top right-hand corner of page 1. The dating of 1867 has been confirmed as correct by the Darwin Correspondence Project. See DCP-LETT-5579.
2
Wallace, A. R. 1867. Mimicry, and Other Protective Resemblances Among Animals. Westminster Review. New Series. 32(1): 1-43.
3
Darwin refers to ARW's article published in July in the Intellectual Observer. See Wallace, A. R. 1867. The Philosophy of Birds' Nests. Intellectual Observer 11(6): 413-420.

Editorial information

Status: Edited (but not proofed) transcription [Letter (WCP1880.1770)]

For more information about the transcriptions and metadata, see https://wallaceletters.myspecies.info/content/epsilon

Revision history

Transcribed by Darwin Correspondence Project [2012-07-02] Transcription checked by Beros, Matt [2019-12-20]

Published letter (WCP1880.5963)

[1] [p. 187]

Down, Bromley, Kent, S E July 6, 1867.

My dear Wallace, — I am very much obliged for your article on Mimicry,1 the whole of which I have read with the greatest interest. You certainly have the art of putting your ideas with remarkable force and clearness; now that I am slaving over proof sheets it makes me almost envious.

I have been particularly glad to read about the birds' nests, and I must procure the Intellectual Observer; but the point which I think struck me most was about its being of no use to the Heliconias to acquire in a slight degree a disagreeable taste. What a curious case is that about the coral snakes. The summary, and indeed the whole, is excellent, and I have enjoyed it much. — With many thanks, yours very sincerely, CH. DARWIN.

1
A footnote here reads: "Westminister Review, July, 1867."

Editorial information

Status: Draft transcription [Published letter (WCP1880.5963)]

For more information about the transcriptions and metadata, see https://wallaceletters.myspecies.info/content/epsilon

Revision history

Transcribed by Congerton, John [2019-12-17]

Please cite as “WCP1880,” in Beccaloni, G. W. (ed.), Ɛpsilon: The Alfred Russel Wallace Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/wallace/letters/WCP1880