Ɛpsilon

WCP2890

Letter (WCP2890.2780)

[1]

90, UPPER TULSE HILL. S.W

10 Dec. 1907.

Dear Dr Wallace,

It is very kind indeed of you to send me a copy of your book.1 I will read it with care, and give full consideration to what you say. In the current number of the Phil. Mag. Poynting2 has an [2] article3 critiquing Lowell’s4 June paper5 on one point, the greenhouse effect of the Martian atmosphere.

Yours very truly | William Huggins6 [signature]

[3]7

1
Wallace, A. R. 1907. Is Mars habitable? A critical examination of Professor Percival Lowell's Book "Mars and its canals," with an alternative explanation. London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd. And New York: The Macmillan Co.
2
Poynting, John Henry (1852-1914). British physicist.
3
Poynting, John Henry. 1907. On Prof. Lowell’s method for evaluating the surface-temperatures of the planets; with an attempt to represent the effect of day and night on the temperature of the earth.The London, Edinburgh, and Dublin Philosophical Magazine and Journal of Science, vol. 14, iss 84, pp.749-760.
4
Lowell, Percival (1855-1916). American businessman, author, mathematician and astronomer.
5
Lowell, P . 1907. A general method for evaluating the surface-temperature of the planets; with special reference to the temperature of Mars". The London, Edinburgh, and Dublin Philosophical Magazine and Journal of Science, vol. 14, iss. 79, pp.161-176.
6
Huggins, William (1824-1910). British astronomer. President of the Royal Astronomical Society 1876-78; President of the Royal Society 1900-05.
7
In pencil in ARW’s handwriting, “Wm Huggins”.

Editorial information

Status: Draft transcription [Letter (WCP2890.2780)]

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

Revision history

Transcribed by Johnston, Rebekah [2019-02-04] Transcription checked by Johnston, Rebekah [2019-02-04] Transcription checked by Sherwood, Danni [2020-08-10] Transcription checked by Chua, Christine [2026-04-18]

Please cite as “WCP2890,” in Beccaloni, G. W. (ed.), Ɛpsilon: The Alfred Russel Wallace Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/wallace/letters/WCP2890