Ɛpsilon

WCP2044

Letter (WCP2044.1934)

[1]1

Herbarium, Royal Gardens

Kew.

Dec. 31, 1880

My dear Mr. Wallace

I am reading with much interest and gratification your Island Life,2 and have gone nearly through the first part.

When treating of the general persistence of continents, you might have been glad to know that my countryman Prof. Dana,3 I think as early as the year 1845 (in an address as President of the American Association for the Advancement of Science), very strongly maintained this doctrine. I do not know if it is made prominent in his Geology.

The close of your Chapt. [2] VII. pp. 119, 120, would so completely serve as an abstract of the gist of a published lecture of mine, which you once did me the honor to commend, that I should have been pleased if the coincidence of view had been referred to.

Believe me to be always yours sincerely | Asa Gray4 [signature]

1
In ARW’s handwriting, “Answd.”
2
Wallace, A. R. 1880. Island life: or, the phenomena and causes of insular faunas and floras, including a revision and attempted solution of the problem of geological climates. London: Macmillan & Co.
3
Dana, James Dwight (1813-1895). American geologist, mineralogist and zoologist.
4
Gray, Asa (1810-1888). American botanist. Professor of natural history, Harvard University, 1842-73.

Editorial information

Status: Draft transcription [Letter (WCP2044.1934)]

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

Revision history

Transcribed by Tzelios, Christie [2018-08-15]

Author’s draft (WCP2044.8166)

[1]1

My Dear Mr. Wallace

I am reading with much interest and gratification your Island Life,2 and have gone nearly through the first part.

When treating of the general persistence of continents and oceans and citing some geological authority you might bemight have been glad to know that you could have that of my countrman Prof. Dana3 & I think it was as early as the year 1845 that he laid this down very strongly in an address as Pres. of the Am. Ass. for the Advancment of Science, I do not know if it is made prominent in his Geology.

The close of your chapt, VIII, p. 119,120, would so completely serve for an abstract of the upshot of a published lecture of mine which you once did me the honor to command that I should have been pleased if you had referred to it upon this occasion.

Always sincerely yours A. Gray4 [signature]

2
Wallace, A. R. 1880. Island life: or, the phenomena and causes of insular faunas and floras, including a revision and attempted solution of the problem of geological climates. London: Macmillan & Co.
3
Dana, James Dwight (1813-1895). American geologist, mineralogist and zoologist.
4
Gray, Asa (1810-1888). American botanist. Professor of natural history, Harvard University, 1842-73.

Editorial information

Status: Draft transcription [Author’s draft (WCP2044.8166)]

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

Revision history

Transcribed by Sherwood, Danni [2020-06-02]

Please cite as “WCP2044,” in Beccaloni, G. W. (ed.), Ɛpsilon: The Alfred Russel Wallace Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/wallace/letters/WCP2044