WCP1973

[1]¹

To C.Darwin.) Rose Hill, Dorking. July 23rd. 1877

My dear Darwin Many thanks for your admirable volume on the "Forms of Flowers".² It would be impertinence of me to say anything in praise of it except that I have read the chapters on "Illegitimate Offspring of Heterostyled plants" — and on "Cleistogamic Flowers" with great interest.

I am almost afraid to tell you that in going over the subject of the "Colours of Animals &c." for a small volume of essays &c. I am preparing I have come to conclusions directly opposed to voluntary sexual selection, and believe that I can explain (in a general way) all the phenomena of sexual ornaments & colours by laws of development aided by simple "natural law selection".

I hope you admire as I do Mr Belt's³ remarkable series of papers in support of his terrific "oceanic glacier river damming" hypothesis. In awful grandure it beats anything "glacial" yet out, & it certainly explains a wonderful lot of hard facts. The last one, on the G "Glacial Period in the Southern Hemisphere" in the Quarterly Journal of Science,⁴ is particularly fine, & I see he has just read a paper at the Geol[ogical] Soc[iety]⁵ It seems to be supported by quite as such evidence as Ramsay's⁶ "Lakes"⁷ — but Ramsay I understand will have none of it — as yet.

Believe me Yours very faithfully Alfred R.Wallace.

To C[harles]. Darwin.) Rose Hill, Dorking. July 23^rd.1877

My dear Darwin

Many thanks on your admirable volume on "The Forms of Flowers"¹. It would be impertinence of me to say anything in praise of it except that I have read the chapters on "Illegitimate Offspring of Heterostyled Plants" — and on "Cleistogamic Flowers" with great interest.

I am almost afraid to tell you that in going over the subject of the "Colours of Animals &c." for a small volume of essays &c. I am preparing I have come to conclusions directly opposed to voluntary sexual selection, and believe that I can explain (in a general way) all the phenomena of sexual ornaments & colours by laws of development aided by simple "natural le[?] selection".

I hope you admire as I do Mr Belt’s² remarkable series of papers in support of his terrific "oceanic glacier river danning[?]" hypothesis. In awful grandure[grandeur] it beats everything "glacial" yet out, & it certainly explains a wonderful lot of hard facts. The last one on the G[?] "Glacial Period in the Southern Hemisphere" in the Quarterly Journal of Science, is particularly fine, & I see he has just read a paper at the Geol[ogical]. Soc[iety]. It seems to me supported by quite as much evidence as Ramsay’s "Lakes" — but Ramsay I understand will have none of it — as yet.

Believe me | Yours very faithfully | Alfred R.Wallace [signature]

[1] [p. 298]

Rose Hill, Dorking. July 23, 1877.

My dear Darwin, — Many thanks for your admirable volume on "The Forms of Flowers." It would be impertinence of me to say anything in praise of it, except that I have read the chapters on "Illegitimate Offspring of Heterostyled Plants:"¹ and on "Cleistogamic Flowers"² with great interest.

I am almost afraid to tell you that in going over the subject of the Colours of Animals, etc., for a small volume of essays, etc., I am preparing, I have come to conclusions directly opposed to voluntary sexual selection, and believe that I can explain (in a general way) all the phenomena of sexual ornaments and colours by laws of development aided by simple Natural Selection.

I hope you admire as I do Mr. Belt's³ remarkable series of papers in support of his terrific "oceanic glacier river-damming" hypothesis. In awful grandeur it beats everything "glacial" yet out, and it certainly explains a wonderful lot of hard facts. The last one, on the "Glacial Period in the Southern Hemisphere," in the Quarterly Journal of Science, is particularly fine, and I see he has [2] just read a paper at the Geological Society. It seems to me supported by quite as much evidence as Ramsay's⁴ "Lakes"; but Ramsay, I understand, will have none of it — as yet. — Believe me yours very faithfully, | Alfred R. Wallace.