WCP2487

[1]¹

908 10^th gr.

Boulder Colorado

USA

Jan[uary]. 1. 1911.

Dear Dr. Wallace,

I was of course delighted to receive your new book the other day. It was very good of you to have a copy sent to me. I have not yet had the time to read it all, but I have been through it rapidly and have read large parts carefully. The thing I like most about it, perhaps, is your abounding delight in all forms of life: iy was this that made your 'Malay Archipelago' so delightful to me when I was a boy. I have been trying to think of some other man who has this quality as you have it and cannot remember a single one, although I a great many enthusiastic naturalists, who are keen enough about their particular groups. It is certainly an unfortunate result of modern specialisation that the old fashioned general naturalist is nearly extinct and that (as I have found) one who attempts to interest himself in all kinds of living things is even considered fameworthy in certain quarters. I believe, however, that this state of things will pass away; partly because it is daily becoming more evident that the same general laws apply to all life, plants and animals; & partly because the numerous good manuals now published, or likely to be published in the near future make it comparatively easy for one to identify species of many groups. Thus, when I first came to Colorado, [2] it was almost impossible for an isolated worker in zoology to do much: — since then have appeared works (well illustrated) including all of the described Mammals, Birds, Reptiles, Amphibians, Fishes and nearly all of the molluscs and larger Lepidoptera. We have also two recent flora to choose from. If I could find a publisher, I should like to get out a singe volume on the natural history of Colorado, small enough to carry about, containing all the groups of most interest to travellers, including fossils.

I was of course much interested in your comparison of the Boulder County flora with that of similar areas in Switzerland. The correspondence is certainly remarkable.

I notice on p. 63 you cite Dr. N. L. Britton², but have the name printed Brittan. His signature, I now notice, certainly looks exactly like Brittan, and he is alone to blame for the error.

(For another edition it may also be noted on p. 126 that the St. Kilda wren is hirtensis.)

I quite agree with Dr. D. Sharp that the estimated number of insects is too low. We have no idea of the vast numbers of insects actually existing. I myself have described over 1000 new insects. In New Mexico I found about 500 species of bees, about _{(more than)} 300 being new. From the materials in The British Museum (& some in the Berlin Museum) I have in the last few years doubled the number of bees from Australia, almost all the additions being new species. Last [3] spring[?], in an out of the way locality over the range, I caught 9 new species of bees in one day. Just now I am working at a large collection of bees from Formosa — the known bee fauna of that island being perhaps 2 dozen specie, up to date. The collection shows that the island is really rich in these insects. The bee-fauna gives the same indication as you attained from other groups, in "Island Life."

On p. 97 it is not correct to say that many of the florrisant species are of genera now extinct. It should read "of genera now extinct in Colorado." The statement as it stands would be true to the fossil insects. The palaeontological record shows that in general the genera of flowering plants are very old, the genera of insects more modern, but still old, & the genera of higher vertebrates much the most recent. This seems to accord well with your views as to their dependence on one another. I could readily obtain statistics if they would be of use.

You have covered so much ground in your book, and have developed so many original ideas, that I suppose there will hardly be a reader who agrees with you on all points: but there will be many thousands who will, like myself read with enjoyment and enthusiasm. & will wish to thank you for all you have done!

Your [2 words illeg.]. Theo. D. A. Cockerell [signature]