WCP2288

Letter (WCP2288.2178)

[1]1, 2

Chislehurst3.

Augt 12. 1872

Dear Mr. Wallace,

I am much obliged for y[ou]r note4 & quite agree with you that my paper5 would have been more complete if I had added tables showing the presence & absence of Moluccan genera. Perhaps I may find an opportunity of doing so yet. With regard to listing[?] Javan and Bornean genera present & absent, my difficulty would be that no complete list of species from either island has been compiled and although I have a fair knowledge of what genera [2] do inhabit those islands, yet it is far from perfect. In fact we want Catalogues for all the great Ind[o-].6Malay islands. & I have begun to attack Borneo & am[?] on a list of Philippine birds.

— I have just received from Marudi7 in Borneo examples of Argus grayi, Elliot.8, 9 it is a good species, quite distinct from the common[?] Argus & this settles the doubt about its habitat.

— I have also received a fine [3] series of Barita gymnocephala10 Tem[minck]11 from Marudi — If not trespassing on y[ou]r time would you kindly tell me what you know of its habits and what you think of its affinities? Whatever you write I will introduce in my remarks on the species. I have written out for specimens in spirits.

— The Bornean small Spilornis[?]12 is a good and distinct species.

— I enjoyed y[ou]r castigation of Dr Bree13, 14. "Fools [4] rush in. etc " as much in Science as in every other pursuit.

Believe me | Y[ou]rs. very tru[l]y | Walden [signature]

There is a bad misprint in my Celebean paper which you may perhaps think is worth[?] while[?] to correct on the margin. At page 115, line 11 please to read

"a diminutive form of C. monticolus, Frank[l]"15

W.

1
The letter is on black-edged mourning paper.
2
"2" is written in ARW's hand in red crayon in the upper right-hand corner of page 1. Page 1 is numbered page 252 by the repository. Every second subsequent page has a consecutive handwritten number written in the upper right-hand corner of the page.
3
The author, Arthur Hay (the Viscount Walden) lived at Walden Cottage, Chislehurst, Kent.
4
Wallace had written to Walden on 10 August. See WCP768.940.
5
Walden, Arthur, Viscount. 1872. A List of the Birds known to inhabit the Island of Celebes. Transactions of the Zoological Society of London, 8: 23-108. Read to the Royal Society on 2 May 1871.
6
In his paper (see note 5) Walden refers to the "Indo-Malay" region.
7
Marudi, Sarawak, the district administrative headquarters.
8
Argus grayi, Elliot, 1865. A pheasant, commonly called the Great Argus.
9
Elliot, Daniel Giraud (1835-1915). American zoologist.
10
Barita gymnocephala, Temminck, 1836. Common names include Bornean Bristlehead and Bald-headed Crow.
11
Temminck, Coenraad Jacob (1778-1858). Dutch zoologist and museum director.
12
Spilornis is a genus listed by Walden in his 1872 paper. See note 5.
13
Bree, Charles Robert (1811-1886). British physician and zoologist.
14
The reference is to Wallace, Alfred R.1872. The Last Attack on Darwinism. Nature, 6 (143), 237-239; a review of Bree, Charles R. 1872. An Exposition of Fallacies in the Hypothesis of Mr. Darwin. London: Longmans, Green and Co.
15
The published text on pp. 114-115 (see note 5) reads "This species" [Caprimulgus affinis, the Savanna Night-jar] "... is as diminutive as C. monticola, Frankl." (Caprimulgus monticolus, Franklin, 1831; Franklin's Night-jar).

Editorial information

Status: Edited (but not proofed) transcription [Letter (WCP2288.2178)]

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

Revision history

Transcribed by Ghosh, Susan [2015-04-08] Transcription checked by Lucas, Paula [2019-12-20]

Please cite as “WCP2288,” in Beccaloni, G. W. (ed.), Ɛpsilon: The Alfred Russel Wallace Collection accessed on 27 April 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/wallace/letters/WCP2288