WCP2970

Letter (WCP2970.2860)

[1]1,2

30 CUMBERLAND ROAD,

KEW,

26th. October 1909.

Dear Mr. Wallace,

I am happy now to be able to send you a letter, which does not need the trouble of a reply.

1. Pray keep the proofs.

2. I am happy glad to find that to go to Orders or sub-orders is low enough in the scale in [word illeg.] division.

3. The table prepared in 1896 needs some additions and Corrections[.] I am doubtful whether to reconstruct it or add notes.

'a.There is one new Order of Mammalia "Barypoda" made to include the wonderful Arsino[i]therium from Fayum [sic] Egypt.

b. Fishes have been rearranged by Traquair2 & Smith Woodward.3[2]

The wonderful early fishes Cephalarpis [sic], Pteraspis &c are now found to have no jaws & their internal skeleton is quite unknown. Here Agnathe [sic] may have to be made a Class = Pisces or Alves [?]! (Protovertebrates?)

c. Among plants the Cycad filicies [sic] are a wonderful group. & want work with, ferns, Cycads — Gymnosperms &c.

I fear you will find the Bulb Catalogues a very bulky matter to deal with. The guides, however, are very useful & good — although prepared for popular use. it will save you the trouble to read from a list (enclosed) [3]4

If you only want to refer to these I will gladly send you on my copies for you to use.

I quite agree with you as to the excellence and originality of Smith Woodward's address[.] He might have given them illustrations — e.g.

The Ammonites fell all aboard before giving up the ghost[.] Twisted & untwisted themselves & wriggled in the most uncomfortable manner.

The Trilobites in their last stages were afflicted with knobs & spikes & generally deemed to be trying experiments in acute variation.. [4]

Bad as is the case of the horns of Cervus megaceros, it is nothing to the tusks of Elephas ganesa, which must have been nearly as long as the elephant's body — !!

They could not fight with them & the lady-elephants must have had strange tastes to greatly admire them!

Please excuse this long [word illeg.] & accept my best thanks for your kind letter.

Your very faithfully | John W. Judd5

1

There is a note written in blue pencil inscribed at the top of the page. It is not entirely legible and reads: "X note on 3rd 4th page mentions [word illeg.] before [word illeg.]."

2

2
Traquair, Ramsay Heatley (1840-1912). Scottish naturalist and palaeontologist, and expert on fossil fish.
3
Woodward, Sir Arthur Smith (1864-1944). English palaeontologist, specialising in fossil fish.
4
T
5
The official stamp of the British Museum is placed in the bottom right-hand corner of the page.

Editorial information

Status: Draft transcription [Letter (WCP2970.2860)]

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

Revision history

Transcribed by Cooper, Rod [2015-03-05] Transcription checked by Benny, Ruth [2015-03-05] Transcription checked by Sherwood, Danni [2020-08-10]

Please cite as “WCP2970,” in Beccaloni, G. W. (ed.), Ɛpsilon: The Alfred Russel Wallace Collection accessed on 29 April 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/wallace/letters/WCP2970