Ɛpsilon

WCP4388

Letter (WCP4388.4643)

[1]

Parkstone, Dorset.

May 18th. 1891

My dear Poulton1

I send you the enclosed letter2 (with Prof. Morgan’s3 consent) thinking it may be useful to you when you come to start your Institute for Experimental Biology which I trust will be soon. I cannot myself see the enormous difficulty in devising suitable experiments which are urged by Galton4 & others. Of course no one experiment will be conclusive, but if [2] scores of different experiments all tend one way or the other, the result will be pretty conclusive to all who are not blinded by their preconceived opinions.

Yours very truly| Alfred R. Wallace [signature]

1
Poulton, Edward Bagnall (1856-1943). British entomologist. Hope Professor of Zoology at the University of Oxford and a Fellow of Jesus College.
3
Morgan, Conwy Lloyd (1852-1936). British ethologist and psychologist. Principal of University College, Bristol.
4
Galton, Francis (1822-1911). British biostatistician, polymath and founder of eugenics. One of the key figures in 19th Century research into heredity. Half-cousin of Charles Darwin.

Editorial information

Status: Draft transcription [Letter (WCP4388.4643)]

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

Revision history

Transcribed by Lord, Annette [2012-07-17] Transcription checked by Catchpole, Caroline [2013-01-15] Transcription checked by Chua, Christine [2026-04-18]

Envelope (WCP4388.4644)

Envelope addressed to "E. B. Poulton F.R.S., Wykeham House, Banbury Road, Oxford", with stamp, postmarked "PARKSTONE | B | MY18 | 91"; postmark on back. [Envelope (WCP4388.4644)]

Please cite as “WCP4388,” in Beccaloni, G. W. (ed.), Ɛpsilon: The Alfred Russel Wallace Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/wallace/letters/WCP4388