WCP4233

[1]

Broadstone, D Wimbourne

Feb[ruar]^y 3rd 1906

My dear Cockerell

Thanks for the "Dial¹" with your pleasant review of my "Life²" — I was intending to insert a Bibliography of my papers &c. but I was so pressed for time by my publishers that I could not get it ready. I did not include portraits of other men, partly because it seemed unsuitable, also from [the] difficulty of getting good ones, & again on account of [the] difficulty of selection — all adding to the time & worry of getting the book ready for the press.

In your letter of Dec. 1st you state briefly your explanation of the occurrence of some secondary sexual characters developed beyond the point of usefulness, and even to that of occasional injury. I have little doubt you are right but the theory is given in some [2] detail ^{(by Weissman)3} in his theory of "Germinal Selection" which I refer to in a note to my chapter on "The Problem of Heredity." I only saw a Review of it in "Nature⁴" vol. LIV. He is rather obscure but I think it is the same as your idea. It ^{The Essay} has been published in English by the Open Court [mark illeg.] Co. at Chicago.

I am now feeling rather idle & and am giving most of my time to my garden, getting new shrubs &c. Do you know of the small shrub Escallonia Organensis⁵ — which I have seen stated somewhere, to be found not on the Organ M[oun]t[ai]^ns of Brazil, but on those of the same name in New Mexico. Do you know anything of this? It is very little known. In a small book by Mrs Loudon⁶ it is mentioned as one of the hardier species. There’s only one nurseryman in England that has it in his Catalogue — Gauntlett of Truro, and he [3] says it is very difficult to propagate and therefore is rare. It has brilliant pink flowers. If it is found in New Mexico perhaps you can get me some seeds of it,

J. Arthur Thomson’s⁷ review of "My Life" was indeed a charming one, and I wrote to thank him for it. Strange to say the Lancet⁸ also gave me an excellent review and did not even give one sneering word — at Anti-vaccination!

Should you have noticed any really good reviews in any American papers will you kindly send them to me, as I should like to see what they say — but I don’t care about the ordinary ignorant notices however much [word illeg.] they may contain.

[4] You will have seen that we have had a political revolution, with a good party of socialists and labour men ^{in Parliament,} with John Burns⁹ in the Cabinet! We shall now see what will be done. Not much I expect by this parliament, but the workers are saying that in the next — six years hence — they will have a majority, and legislate in their own interests, as I sincerely hope they will.

With best wishes to your wife.

Believe me | Yours very sincerely | Alfred R. Wallace [signature]