WCP4035

[1]

The Dell, Grays, Essex

Dec^r. 10th, 1874

Dear Newton¹

The genera you name are all thoroughly Oriental genera that is Himilayan, Indo Chineese, & Malayan. Their occurrence in Africa therefore indicates the amount of relationship between the two regions, but can be no way prove a special relationship between the Peninsula of India & Africa, which alone is the question I was referring to.

There are many more genera common to the two regions, but to prove the special relationship of the Hindustan,^subregion as distinguished from the Indo Malay fauna you must show that Hindustan alone has [2] numerous Ethiopian forms which are not found in the rest of the region. Judged in the way what I remember is that Hindustan is Oriental rather than Ethiopian in the proportion of 80 to 4 as indicated by bird genera.

For Sylviadae I have trusted wholly to Tristram² who has been kind enough to send me a list of genera. I know nothing about them myself.

I shall of course give a notice of all recent (tertiary) fossil forms,— but I hold that they must not have any weight in determining existing zoological regions, though of immense interest in [3] showing how & ^by what steps existing regions have been formed. I think on consideration you will see the absolute necessity of this.

You ctiticise my "Ibis" paper as a Classification of Passeres.³ That is not fair. I never arrived at anything of the kind, & should be ashamed to attempt anything of the kind with my scanty knowledge. But you know I asked you years ago about what order I should arrange the families in. You could not tell me. No one else could tell me. I was obliged to arrange them in some order, & I was like the Donkey between the two historical bundles of hay (only then [4]⁴ were an indefinite lot of bundles which made it all the harder to choose.) Now I must have a reason for any cause of action,— a bad reason perhaps if I cannot get a good one, so I tried to find some reason why I should arrange the Passeres one way rather than another, & I found one which was I thought an improvement on any other way I had seen, then arranged in (& I think so still).

No ^one will welcome any lights on classification more than myself, but to tell me that Menura & Atricleia are primary divisions of Passeres, & that I put Motacillidae in the wrong place, (but not to tell me where I ought to put it, & why) does not assist me in my practical question, "How most naturally & most conveniently to arrange to 40 to 50 accepted family of Passere"?.

Yours very truly | Alfred R. Wallace [signature]

Prof A. Newton.