WCP1959

Letter (WCP1959.1849)

[1]

Down,

Beckenham, Kent.

Jan 13th [1873]1

My dear Wallace

I have read your Review with much interest,2, 3 & I thank you sincerely for the very kind spirit in which it is written. I cannot say that I am convinced by your criticisms. If you have ever actually observed a kitten sucking & pounding, with to extended toes, its mother, & then seen the same kitten when a little older doing the same thing on a soft shawl, & ultimately [2] an old cat (as I have seen) & do not admit that it is identically the same action, I am astonished.

With respect to the decapitated frog, I have always heard of Pflüger4 as a most trustworthy observer. If indeed anyone knows a frog's habits so well as to say that it [one word illeg. crossed out] never rubs off a bit of leaf or other object, which may stick to it though, in [3] the same manner as it did the acid, your objection w[oul]d. be valid. Some of Flouren's5 experiments, in

which he removed the cerebral anterior hemispheres from a pigeon, indicate that acts, apparently performed consciously, can be done without consciousness,— I presume through the force of habit, in which case it would appear that intellectual power is not brought into play.—

Several persons have made [4] suggestion & objection as yours about the hands being held up in astonishment: if there was any straining of the muscles, as with protruded arms under fright, I would agree: as it is I must keep to my old opinion, & I daresay you will say [one word illeg. crossed out] that I am an obstinate old blockhead.

My dear Wallace | Yours very sincerely | Ch. Darwin [signature]

The Book has sold wonderfully; 9000 copies have now been printed.6

1
An annotation in red crayon at the upper centre of page 1 adds '1873'. The Darwin Correspondence Project have established 1873 as the correct date for this letter. See DCP-LETT-8735.
2
Wallace, A. R. 1873. Darwin's "The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals. Quarterly Journal of Science 3 (n.s.; 10, o.s.): 113-118 (Jan. 1873: no. 37).
3
A pencil annotation adds 'Expression of Emotions above the text "Review".
4
Pflüger, Eduard Friedrich Wilhelm (1829-1910). German physiologist.
5
Flourens, Marie-Jean-Pierre (1794-1867). French physiologist and pioneer in anaesthesia.
6
The text "The Book" to "been printed" is written vertically down the left-hand margin of page 4.

Editorial information

Status: Edited (but not proofed) transcription [Letter (WCP1959.1849)]

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 (WCP1959.6057)

[1] [p. 280]

Down, Beckenham, Kent. January 13, 1873.

My dear Wallace, — I have read your review1 with much interest, and I thank you sincerely for the very kind spirit in which it is written. I cannot say that I am convinced by your criticisms.2 If you have ever actually observed a kitten sucking and pounding with extended toes its mother, and then seen the same kitten when a little older doing the same thing on a soft shawl, and ultimately an old cat (as I have seen), and do not admit that it is identically the same action, I am astonished. [2] [p. 281]

With respect to the decapitated frog,3 I have always heard of Pflüger4 as a most trustworthy observer. If, indeed, anyone knows a frog's habits so well as to say that it never rubs off a bit of leaf or other object, which may stick to its thigh, in the same manner as it did the acid, your objection would be valid. Some of Flourens'5 experiments, in which he removed the cerebral hemisphere from a pigeon, indicate that acts apparently performed consciously can be done without consciousness — I presume through the force of habit; in which case it would appear that intellectual power is not brought into play. Several persons have made such suggestions and objections as yours about the hands being held up in astonishment:6 if there was any straining of the muscles, as with protruded arms under fright, I would agree: as it is I must keep to my old opinion, and I daresay you will say that I am an obstinate old blockhead. — My dear Wallace, | yours very sincerely, | CH. DARWIN.

The book has sold wonderfully; 9,000 copies have now been printed.

1
Wallace’s review of Darwin's 'Expression' was published in the Quarterly Journal of Science (A. R. Wallace 1873)
2
At this point a footnote is inserted: "Quarterly Journal of Science, January, 1873, p.116: "I can hardly believe that when a cat, lying on a shawl or other soft material, pats or pounds it with its feet, or sometimes sucks a piece of it, it is the persistence of the habit of pressing the mammary glands and sucking during kittenhood." Wallace goes on to say that infantine habits are generally completely lost in adult life, and that it seems unlikely that they should persist in a few isolated instances."
3
At this point a footnote is inserted: "Wallace speaks of "a readiness to accept the most marvellous conclusions or interpretations of physiologists on what seem very insufficient grounds," and he goes on to assert that the frog experiment is either incorrectly recorded, or else that it "demonstrates volition, and not reflex action." "
4
Pflüger, Eduard Friedrich Wilhelm (1829-1910). German physiologist.
5
Flourens, Marie-Jean-Pierre (1794-1867). French physiologist and pioneer in anaesthesia.
6
At this point a footnote is inserted: "The raising of the hands in surprise is explained ("Expression of the Emotions," 1st Edit., p.287) on the doctrine of antithesis as being the opposite of listlessness. Mr. Wallace's view (given in the second edition of "Expression of the Emotions," p.300) is that the gesture is appropriate to sudden defence or to the giving of aid to another person."

Editorial information

Status: Draft transcription [Published letter (WCP1959.6057)]

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 “WCP1959,” in Beccaloni, G. W. (ed.), Ɛpsilon: The Alfred Russel Wallace Collection accessed on 20 April 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/wallace/letters/WCP1959