Ɛpsilon

WCP4409

Letter (WCP4409.4678)

[1]

Parkstone, Dorset.

June 13th.1897

My dear Poulton1

I send you the Paper on Pieridae which I suppose is what you want. I have it in the J. Ent. Soc.

The rate of deposition might be modified in an Archipelago, but would not necessarily be less than now, on the average. On the ocean side it might be slow but wherever there were comparatively narrow straights between the islands it might be even faster than now because the area of deposition would be strictly limited.

[2] In the seas between Java and Borneo & between Borneo and Celebes the deposition may be above the average. Again; during the development of Continents there were evidently extensive mountain ridges & masses with landlocked seas, or inland lakes, & in all these deposition would be rapid. Anyhow, the fact remains, that there is no necessary equality between rates of denudation & deposition (in thickness) as [3] Geike2 has assumed.

I was delighted with your account of Pritchard’s3 wonderful anticipation of Galton4 & Weismann!5 It is so perfect & complete. It came when I was doing Exam. papers or I should have written to thank you for it. It is most remarkable that such a complete statement of the theory and such a thorough appreciation of its effects and bearing, should have been so long overlooked. I read Pritchard when I was very young, & have never seen the book since. His facts and arguments are really [4] useful now, and I should think Weismann must be delighted to have such a supporter come from the grave. His view as to supposed transmissions of disease is quite that of Archdall Reid’s6 recent book. He was equally clear as to Selection, & had he been a zoologist and traveller he might have anticipated the work of both Darwin7 & Weismann!

To bring out such a book as his "Researches" when only 27, and a practising Physician, shows what a remarkable man he was.

Believe me| yours very truly| Alfred R. Wallace [signature]

Prof. Poulton.

1
Poulton, Edward Bagnall (1856-1943). British entomologist. Hope Professor of Zoology at the University of Oxford and a Fellow of Jesus College.
2
Geikie, Archibald (1835-1924). British geologist and historian. Brother of James Murdoch Geikie.
3
Prichard, James Cowles (1786-1848). British physician and ethnologist.
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.
5
Weismann, August Friedrich Leopold (1834-1914). German evolutionary biologist and founder of germ plasm theory. His work was influential in disproving the inheritance of acquired characteristics.
6
Reid, George Archdall O'Brien (1860-1929). British physician, and a writer on public health and on the subject of evolution.
7
Darwin, Charles Robert (1809-1882). British naturalist, geologist and author, notably of On the Origin of Species (1859).

Editorial information

Status: Draft transcription [Letter (WCP4409.4678)]

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]

Published letter (WCP4409.6439)

[1] [p. 78]

Parkstone, Dorset. June 13, 1897.

My dear Poulton,—... The rate of deposition might be modified in an archipelago, but would not necessarily be less than now, on the average. On the ocean side it might be slow, but wherever there were comparatively narrow straits between the islands it might be even faster than now, because the area of deposition would be strictly limited. In the seas between Java and Borneo and between Borneo and Celebes the deposition may be above the average. Again, during the development of continents there were evidently extensive mountain ridges and masses with landlocked seas, or inland lakes, and in all these deposition would be rapid. Anyhow, the fact remains that there is no necessary equality between rates of denudation and deposition (in thickness) as Geikie has assumed.

I was delighted with your account of Prichard's wonderful anticipation of Galton and Weismann! It is so perfect and complete.... It is most remarkable that such a complete statement of the theory and such a through appreciation of its effects and bearing should have been so long overlooked. I read Prichard when I was very young, and have never seen the book since. His facts and arguments are really useful ones, and I should think Weismann must be delighted to have such a supporter come from the grave. His view as to the supposed transmission of disease is quite that of Archdall Reid's recent book. He was equally clear as to Selection, and had he been a zoologist and traveller he might have anticipated the work of both Darwin7 and Weismann!

To bring out such a book as his "Researches" when only twenty-seven, and a practising physician, shows what a remarkable man he was.—Believe me yours very truly,

ALFRED R. WALLACE.

Editorial information

Status: Draft transcription [Published letter (WCP4409.6439)]

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

Revision history

Transcribed by Sherwood, Danni [2020-06-09] Transcription checked by Siewert, Betsy [2020-10-30] Transcription checked by Chua, Christine [2026-04-18]

Please cite as “WCP4409,” in Beccaloni, G. W. (ed.), Ɛpsilon: The Alfred Russel Wallace Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/wallace/letters/WCP4409