WCP4053

[1]

The Dell, Grays, Essex

August 25th. 1875

Dear Newton

Many thanks for your notes on my proof. I was sure I sh[oul]^d have some valuable hints & corrections.

1. As to Woodcocks coming from the South, I get it from Rev. C.A Johns¹ who states it as his own observation in Cornwall. Coupled with the repeated statements of these birds sometimes appearing earlier in S.[outh] the N[orth] of England, it seems to show that some do come from the S[outh]— perhaps from Madeira where they are said to be resident & form wh[ich] the surplus populations must migrate. No doubt the [waves?] came from the N[orth] & I have modified my statement accordingly.

[2] 2. Marcel de Serces² states it as an undoubted fact, that ^{young birds of} the waders [and?] swimmers in general, stop "on Shores of Baltic, and on lakes of Austria, Hungary, and at furthest Russia" while the old birds go on "almost alone" to the extreme polar regions. (2nd. Ed. p. 121)

3. The statement about ova of fish passing through bird[s] uninjured I got fr[om] "Lyells Principles" &he refers to — "Amer[ican] Acad[emy] Essay 75" —

I have read your article on Migration with great interest,- and it makes me wish you could find time to collect and systematise[sic] all the available material. It would make a most valuable & interesting [3] work. I have not added any thing more to my sketch as I only wanted the outlines.

Do you know anything of a Mr. R. Cholmondeley of Condover Hall, Shrewsbury³ ? He has written to invite me to accompany him to the Malay Archipelago next year in his Steam Yacht of 409 [tons?] "to catch live birds"! He says he has an immense aviary, & brought home 600 birds this year from W[est] Africa[.] He says he has hummingbirds alive. Perhaps he means Sun-birds,- for his notions of classification are of the rudest. [4] he says he considers Birds of Paradise to be only a kind of trogons⁴ ! He means to go to A[frica?] & bring home 100 Paradise birds, with Racquet-tailed kingfishers, & anything else he can get.

Get an introduction, & inoculate him with the mysteries of classification, &the charms of synonymy & priority. He will be a grand pupil & a huge for the B. O. U.⁵!

Lecture your paper tomorrow[.] Look at p.74.l.26. "numbers" is at first [singly?] puzzling,- it will be taken for numbers of swallows! a comma at Swallow, will make it clear.

Yours in haste | Alfred R.Wallace [signature]