WCP4564

[1]

Old Orchard,

Broadstone,

Wimborne.

June 27^th 1909

My dear Meldola

I have just read your excellent article in "Nature" on "Darwin and Modern Science". You had a difficult task, & have done it well, and I hope your mild exposé & protests will open some people’s eyes to the absurdity & incongruity of such persons as Bateson and De Vries having so prominent a place in a Darwinian Celebration.

I have only, so far, had [2] time to read two papers — those of Thiselton-Dyer, and of Hans Gadow. The former is very good & thoroughly suitable to the occasion — the latter as thoroughly bad & unsuitable. It hardly refers to Darwin except to criticise him, and when the ^writer does bring him in, he wholly misstates his views — See p.322 — last par[agraph], & p.325 — last 11 lines — which imply that Darwin traced each species to a single pair! & that the view of whole groups of individuals being modified together was Andrew Murray’s [3] not Darwin’s! And the Editors allowed this to pass without pointing out its complete falsity. It ^{Such a statement} really plays into the hands of the Mutationists, and its utter futility was why Darwin always rejected it, except as a rare event which might possibly have sometimes led to species formation, but was wholly unnecessary.

The writing is often so obscure as to be unintelligible — as on p.332 where the lines 6 — 8 are pure nonsense!

Thiselton-Dyer did not go to Cambridge, because he says (in a letter just received [)] — "I could not stand being told that Darwin’s mantle had fallen upon Bateson, — that the [4]¹ Origin of Species has still to be discovered, and that specific differences have no reality". He adds that he was afraid that under such provocation he tmight lose his temper!

I may tell you that I was asked about a year ago to contribute to the volume, which I declined for many reasons, — and am glad I did. I shall read Poulton’s chapter next, then perhaps De Vries & Bateson, — & then others as time & inclination moves me. I am struggling with my new book — a development of my Lecture at R[oyal] Inst[itutio]n in which I shall be able to treat and discuss the some fundamental problems of organic Evolution, both fully & popularly.

Yours very truly| Alfred R. Wallace [signature]