WCP4441

[1]

Old Orchard,

Broadstone,

Wimborne.

Jan^y. 26^th. 1909

My dear Poulton

I had a delightful 2 hours at the Museum on Saturday morning, as Mr. Rothschild brought from Tring several of his glass-bottom drawers with his finest new New Guinea butterflies. They were a treat! I never saw any thing more lovely & interesting.

I now send you the supposed butterfly I told you about — but it turns out to be a Castnia — a very rare species, not in the Museum where there is a coloured drawing ^{It is totally} unlike ^{any of the Amazonian Castnias.1} [2] in its place. Stupidly I omitted to take the name. Mr Rothschild told me that the Castnias are very long in the larva & pupa states. I send it to you, as I promised, but if you do not care much for it you can give it to the Brit[ish] Museum.

As to your kind & pressing invitation I am sorry to be obliged to decline it. I cannot remain more than one day or night away from home, without considerable discomfort, and all the attraction[s] of your celebration, are, to me repulsions. If I ever do come [3] to Oxford it will be for a very short visit to you alone, & to see your great series of illustrations of mimicry. Mr. Rothschild, (as well as Mr Hartert) gave me a kind invitation to Tring for a week end, or a day, as I like. To see their whole series of N[ew] Guinea butterflies — & Birds of Paradise — would be a real treat, & if I feel well enough in the summer, I hope to be able to go.

My lecture — even as it will be published in the "Fortnightly" will be far too short for exposition of all the points I wish to discuss, and I hope to occupy myself during this year in [4]² saying all I want to say in a book ^{(of a wider scope)} which is already arranged for. One of the great points, which I just touched on in The Lecture is, to show, that all that is usually considered the waste of nature — the enormous numbers produced in proportion to the few that survive was absolutely essential, in order to secure the ^{variety &} continuity of life through all the ages — & especially of that one line of descent which culminated in man. That, I think, is a subject no one has yet dealt with.

Yours very faithfully| Alfred R. Wallace [signature]