WCP1957

Letter (WCP1957.1847)

[1]

Down,

Beckenham, Kent. [Sevenoaks, Kent]1

Oct. 20th [1872]2

My dear Wallace

I have thought that you w[oul]d. perhaps like to see enclosed specimen & extract from letter3 (translated from German by my son4) from Dr. W. Marshall, Zoological Assistant to Schlegel at Leyden (Leiden).5— Th Neither the specimens, nor extract. need be returned; & you need not acknowledge the receipt.— The resemblance is not so close, now that the fragments are gummed on card, as I at first [2] thought. Your review6 of Houzeau7 was very good: I skimmed through the whole gigantic book8, but you managed to pick at the places much better than I did for myself.— You are a born critic. What an admirable number that was of Nature.—

I am writing this at [3] Sevenoaks where we have taken a house for 3 weeks & have one more week to stay. We came here that I may get a little rest, of which I stood in much need.—

Ever yours | very sincerely | Ch. Darwin [signature]

With respect to what you say about the certain instincts of Ants having been acquired by experience or sense, have you kept [4] in mind that the neuters, have no progeny.— I wish I knew whether the fertile females, or queen, do the same work, (viz bringing placing the eggs in warm places &c) as the neuters do afterwards: If so the case w[oul]d. be comparatively simple; but I believe this is not the case, & I am driven to selection of varying preexisting instincts.—

1
Darwin's letters is sent from Sevenoaks, Kent as he notes on page 3 of the letter.
2
An annotation adds '1872' in red crayon at the upper centre of page 1. The Darwin Correspondence Project has established that 1872 is the correct date for this letter. See DCP-LETT-8566.
3
The enclosure sent to ARW has not been found but Darwin appears to have enclosed an English translation of part of the letter sent from William Marshall to Darwin on 15 October 1872. (Darwin Correspondence Project, "Letter no. 8566," <https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/DCP-LETT-8566.xml> [accessed on 24 July 2019].)
4
It is not known which of Charles Darwin's made the translation. (Darwin Correspondence Project, "Letter no. 8566," <https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/DCP-LETT-8566.xml> [accessed on 24 July 2019].)
5
Marshall, William Adolf Ludwig (1845-1907). German zoologist and comparative anatomist.
6
Wallace, A. R. 1872. Houzeau on the Faculties of Man and Animals. Nature 6: (10 October 1872). 469-471.
7
Houzeau, Jean Charles (1820-1888). Belgian astronomer and journalist.
8
Houzeau, J. C. 1872. Études sur les Facultés Mentales des Animaux Comparées à Celles de l'Homme, Par un Voyageur Naturaliste. 2 Vols. Paris: Hachette et Cie.

Editorial information

Status: Edited (but not proofed) transcription [Letter (WCP1957.1847)]

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

Revision history

Transcribed by Darwin Correspondence Project [2012-11-21] Transcription checked by Beros, Matt [2019-12-20]

Published letter (WCP1957.6055)

[1] [p. 279]

Down, Beckenham, Kent. October 20, 1872.

My dear Wallace, — I have thought that you would perhaps like to see enclosed specimen and extract from letter (translated from the German by my son) from Dr. W. Marshall,1 Zoological Assistant to Schlegel2 at Leyden.3 Neither the specimen nor extract need be returned; and you need not acknowledge the receipt. The resemblance is not so close, now that the fragments are gummed on card, as I at first thought. Your review4 of Houzeau5 was very good: I skimmed through the whole gigantic book, but you managed to pick out the plums much better than I did for myself. You are a born critic. What an admirable number that was of Nature.6

I am writing this at Sevenoaks,7 where we have taken a house for three weeks and have one more week to stay. We came here that I may get a little rest, of which I stood in much need. — Ever yours very sincerely, | CH. DARWIN.

With respect to what you say about certain instincts of ants having been acquired by experience or sense, have you kept in mind that the neuters have no progeny? I wish I knew whether the fertile females, or queens, do the same work (viz. placing the eggs in warm places, etc.) as the neuters do afterwards; if so the case would be comparatively simple; but I believe this is not the case, and I am driven to selection of varying pre-existing instincts.

1
Marshall, William Adolf Ludwig (1845-1907). German zoologist and comparative anatomist.
2
Schlegel, Hermann (1804-1884). German ornithologist and herpetologist
3
Schlegel was Director of the Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke Historie at Leiden, the Netherlands from 1858 to 1884.
4
ARW's review of Houzeau's comparative study of the mental abilities of humans and animals appeared in the 10 October 1872 issue of Nature.
5
Houzeau, Jean Charles (1820-1888). Belgian astronomer and journalist.
6
British scientific journal first published in 1869.
7
A town in Kent, England.

Editorial information

Status: Draft transcription [Published letter (WCP1957.6055)]

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

Revision history

Transcribed by Paterson, Gavin [2019-12-17]

Please cite as “WCP1957,” in Beccaloni, G. W. (ed.), Ɛpsilon: The Alfred Russel Wallace Collection accessed on 25 April 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/wallace/letters/WCP1957