WCP4004

Letter (WCP4004.3947)

[1]

5 Westbourne Grove Terrace,

London W.

Nov. 22nd [1863]1

Dear Newton

Many thanks for the Collocalia francica2 which seems to be only a variety of C. fuciphaga,3 but a good series of specimens are wanted to settle it.

Have you heard from Sir W. Jardine4 about the copies of the "Nomenclature Rules".5 They should be sent to all [2] really working naturalists if any good is to be done. At least 50 copies sh[oul]d be sent to the Secretaries of the Linnean & Zoological Societies for distribution, or no good will be done. We want a general expression of opinion & several I have spoken to know nothing about it. Will you as a personal friend [3] of Sir W. J. & a member of the Committee write & ask to have the residue of the copies printed sent to London for distribution. I know at least a dozen working Entomologists & Conchologists who ought to have them. They should also be sent liberally abroad.

Arthur Adams6 who having written a long book on genera of shell[?]7 has had to come to a decision on such questions [4]8 sticks up for the law of priority, without exceptions absolutely, & has almost converted me to the adoption of the Boddaertian9 names as a matter of principle.

Please take some steps in this matter.

Yours very truly | Alfred R Wallace [signature]

A. Newton Esq.

1
Year date from the annotation "A. R. Wallace, London. Nov. 22/23 /63 | Answered Nov. 26/63" written in top left corner of page [[4]], in ink in an unknown, apparently contemporary, hand.
2
A tropical bird of the Swift family. Common name Mascarene Swiftlet.
3
A tropical bird of the Swift family which makes its nest from solidified saliva. Common name Edible-nest Swiftlet.
4
Jardine, William (1800-1874). British naturalist.
5
Jardine produced a revised version in British Association. 1863. Rules for Zoological Nomenclature by the late Hugh E. Strickland .... Authorised by Section D of British Association at Manchester, 1842. Reprinted by Requisition of Section D at Newcastle. Edinburgh: Neill. See WCP2028.1918, William Jardine to ARW, 10 Dec. 1863.
6
Adams, Arthur (1820-1878). British physician and naturalist. Brother of Henry Adams.
7
Possibly Adams, Henry, and Adams, Arthur. 1858. The genera of recent Mollusca: arranged according to their organization. London: John Van Voorst.
8
See note 1.
9
From Boddaert, Pieter (1730-1795), Dutch physician and naturalist. He assigned Linnaean binomial scientific names to illustrations for Buffon, Comte de. 1749-1789. Histoire Naturelle, générale et particulière, avec la description du Cabinet du Roi. Paris: Imprimerie Royale.

Editorial information

Status: Edited (but not proofed) transcription [Letter (WCP4004.3947)]

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Revision history

Transcribed by Brunnen, Claire [2012-05-30] Transcription checked by Catchpole, Caroline [2013-01-15] Transcription checked by Lucas, Paula [2022-07-19]

Please cite as “WCP4004,” in Beccaloni, G. W. (ed.), Ɛpsilon: The Alfred Russel Wallace Collection accessed on 27 April 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/wallace/letters/WCP4004