WCP5317

Letter (WCP5317.5861)

[1]1

Down Bromley Kent

Nov[ember]. 3rd/642

My dear Hooker1

Many thanks for your splendid long letter.2 But first for business. — Please look carefully at [the] enclosed spec[imen]. of Dicentra thalictriformis3 & throw away: when [the] plant was young I concluded certainly that [the] tendrils were axial in or modified branches, which Mohl4 says is [the] case with some Fumariaceae.5 — You looked at them here & agreed. — But now [the] plant is old, what I thought was a branch with two leaves & ending in a tendril, looks like a gigantic leaf with 2 compound leaflets & [the] terminal part converted into [a] tendril. For I see buds in [the] fork [2] between [the] supposed branch & main stem. — Pray look carefully, you know I am profoundly ignorant, & save me from a horrid mistake. —

And now I must say a few words on the several & all interesting points in your letter.

Have you Ch[arles]. Martins6 on Sahara7 & can you lend it?

I am quite delighted with what you say about H[erbert]. Spencer's8 book;9 when I finish each number I say to myself what an awfully clever fellow he is, but when I ask myself what I have learnt, it is [3] just nothing. In the last number, however, he lists a blot in the "Origin"10 but not in any rough M.S. viz. [namely] no allusion to what the old physiologists call the nisus formativus.11 — I do not admire so much his style, & I think invariably 2 or 3 pages might be condensed into one. —

When I wrote to you I had not read Ramsay.12 — how capitally it is written — it seems that there is nothing for style like a man's dander being put up. — I think I agree largely with you about denudation13 — but the rocky lake-basin theory14 is the part which interests me at present. — It seems impossible to know [4] how much to attribute to ice, — running water, & sea. — I did not suppose that Ramsay would deny that mountains had been thrown up irregularly — & that the depressions would become valleys. — The grandest valleys I ever saw were at Tahiti & here, I do not believe, ice has done anything — anyhow there were no erratics — I said in my S[outh]. American Geology15 that rivers deepen & the sea widens valleys,16 & I am inclined largely to stick to this, adding ice to water. — I am sorry to hear that Tyndall17 has grown dogmatic.18 H[ensleigh]. Wedgwood19 [5]20 was saying the other day that T[yndall].'s writings and speaking gave him the idea of intense conceit: I hope it is not so, for he is a grand man of science.

About the Red Cowslip,21 I said that it might not [need?] to be called a species, unless it run[s] wild, solely as the most severe test of sufficient constancy of character. —

When I suggested Wallace for R[oyal]. Medal,22 I must confess I had obscure glimmering that it w[oul]d be difficult to state claims. His Amazon Book23 is nothing; his Nat[ural]. [6] Selection24 would, I suppose, rather go against him with [the] Royal Soc[iet]y. I do not know whether his admirable paper before [the] Linn[ean]. Soc[iet]y.25 is published. He wrote one good paper on Geograph[ical]. Distribution26 & he has published Geographical papers;27 but I fear it would be impossible yet to make out [a] good case. for Talking of Geog[raphical]. Distrib[ution]. I have had a Prospectus & letter from Andrew Murray,28 asking me for suggestions! I think this almost shows he is not fit for [the] subject, as he gives me no idea what his book will be, excepting that [7] the printed paper shows that all animals & all plants of all groups are to be treated of!! Do you know anything of his knowledge[?]. —

In about a fortnight I shall have finished, except [the] concluding chapter, my Book on "Variation under Domestication";29 but then I have got to go over the whole again, & this will take me very many months: I am able to work about 2 hours daily.

Thanks about Stanhopea,30 but I have at last set a capsule: my Stanhopeas flowered generously, but I cannot make Acroperas31 & [8] Gongoras32 flower, which I much wish for, as I believe Stanhopea has shown me the dodge for Acropera, which formerly so confounded me & John Scott.33 I grieve to hear about Mr McNab34 & him — — Farewell [and] forgive this awesomely long letter.

Yours affectionately, | C. Darwin35 [signature]

I cannot buy at Veitch's,36, Coryanthes37 or Cycnoches,38 if you could propagate plants of both, or either, I sh[oul]d be pleased, not that I suppose I shall ever publish my new matter on orchids. —

1
Hooker, Joseph Dalton (1817-1911). British botanist and explorer. Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew 1865-1885. President of the Royal Society 1873-1878.
2
[letter from ARW to Darwin dated 26 October 1864 is WCP5323_L5867]
3
Dicentra thalictrifolia, a Himalayan species of the family Fumariaceae (see Endnote 7) with leaf-tendrils. Following On the Origin of Species, Darwin set out to produce evidence for his theory of natural selection, initially studying plants. The spontaneous revolving habit of stems and tips in many plant groups serve to obtain light and/or support. Darwin explored the reasons for why these adaptations might have evolved and in what ways they may have been advantageous, appearing first as an essay [Darwin, C. 1865. On the movements and habits of climbing plants. Journal of the Linnean Society of London (Botany). 9: 1-118] and later as a book: Darwin, C. 1875. On the Movements and Habits of Climbing Plants. 2nd ed. London: John Murray.
4
Mohl, Hugo von (1805-1872). German botanist.
5
A family of erect or climbing flowering plants including the fumitory (Fumaria sp.) and bleeding hearts (Dicentra spp.). In third chapter of his book On the Movements and Habits of Climbing Plants, ʺTendril-Bearersʺ, Darwin states: "By tendrils I mean filamentary organs, sensitive to contact and used exclusively for climbing. By this definition, spines, hooks and rootlets, all of which are used for climbing, are excluded. True tendrils are formed by the modification of leaves with their petioles, of flower-peduncles, branches, and perhaps stipules. Mohl, who includes under the name of tendrils various organs having a similar external appearance, classes them according to their homological nature, as being modified leaves, flower-peduncles, &c" (pp. 84-85).
6
Martins, Charles Frédéric (1806-1889). French botanist and geologist. Director of the Jardin des plantes de Montpellier 1851-1871.
7
Charles Martins. 1866. Du Spitzberg au Sahara: étapes d'un naturaliste au Spitzberg, en Laponie, en Écosse, en Suisse, en France, en Italie, en Orient, en Égypte et en Algérie. Paris: J.-B. Baillière et Fils.
8
Spencer, Herbert (1820-1903). British philosopher, sociologist, and prominent classical liberal political theorist.
9
Spencer saw evolution as the progressive development of the physical world, biological organisms, and the human mind, culture and societies. In Spencer, H. 1864-1867. The Principles of Biology. 2 vols. London, Williams & Norgate, he coined the phrase "survival of the fittest", which he later applied to economics and biology, and Darwin would use in the fifth edition of On the Origin of Species (1869).
10
Darwin, C. 1859. On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life. London: John Murray.
11
Formative effort (nisus (Lat.): effort, striving, struggle). The impulse of nature to create forms and how those forms were managed.
12
Ramsay, Andrew Crombie (1814-1891). British geologist. The reference is to: Ramsay, A. C. 1864. On the Erosion of Valleys and Lakes: a Reply to Sir Roderick Murchison's Anniversary Address to the Geographical Society. Philosophical Magazine. 28: 293-311.
13
In the ninth chapter of On the Origin of Species, ʺOn the Imperfection of the Geological Recordʺ, Darwin argues that the duration of geological time as evidenced by the computed rate of aerial denudation is compatible with the evolutionary process (pp. 284-287 ).
14
Ramsay, A. C. 1865. Sir Charles Lyell and the Glacial Theory of Lake-Basins. Philosophical Magazine. 29: 285-298. In this Ramsay responds to counter arguments advanced by Lyell to Ramsay's previous paper: Ramsay, A. C. 1862. On the Glacial Origin of Certain Lakes, &c. Journal of the Geological Society. 18: 185-205.
15
Darwin, C. 1846. Geological Observations on South America, being the third part of the Geology of the Voyage of the Beagle, under the command of Captain Fitzroy, R. N. London: Smith Elder & Co.
16
In Geological Observations on South America, Darwin writes: "Finally, the conclusion at which I have arrived with respect to the relative powers of rain, and sea-water on the land is, that the latter is by far the most efficient agent, and that its chief tendency is to widen the valleys, whilst torrents and rivers tend to deepen them and to remove the wreck of the sea's destroying action" (pp. 66-67).
17
Tyndall, John (1820-1893). Irish physicist and mountaineer. Professor of natural philosophy at the Royal Institution in 1853; Superintendent of the Royal Institution 1867-1887.
18
Hooker had written in his letter [see endnote 4] that ʺI have read Tyndall, but was not satisfied, I had a talk to him afterwards, but he is grown so dogmaticʺ. The reference is to: Tyndall, J. 1864. On the Conformation of the Alps. Philosophical Magazine. 28: 255-271. In this Tyndall gave evidence supporting Ramsay’s theory of the glacial origin of mountain rock-basins, as well as stating the role of rivers in the formation of Alpine valleys.
19
Wedgwood, Hensleigh (1803-1891). British etymologist, philologist and barrister. A cousin of Charles Darwin and also his brother-in-law after his sister Emma married Darwin in 1839.
20
This part of the document is numbered "2532 B".
21
John Scott (1836-1880), a British botanist and gardener, foreman of the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh, had experimentally crossed three flower forms of cowslip (Primula veris): an equal-stamened and equal-styled, or non-dimorphic, red variety of cowslip, a long-styled form of the common cowslip, and a short-styled form of the common cowslip. Scott's results suggested that the self-pollinated non-dimorphic red cowslip produced more seed, and was therefore likely to be more fertile, than when crossed with the long-styled or short-styled cowslip (representing a ʺheteromorphic unionʺ). The red cowslip was very sterile when fertilising, or fertilised by, the common cowslip, suggesting it was a distinct species (Scott, J. 1865. Observations on the functions and structure of the reproductive organs in the Primulaceae. Journal of the Linnean Society (Botany). 8: 78-126). When Darwin repeated Scott's experiments with the non-dimorphic form of red cowslip he was unable to corroborate Scott's finding that the form exhibited a high degree of sterility when crossed with other forms.
22
The Royal Medals of the Royal Society were founded by King George IV in 1825. Between 1826 and 1964 two medals were awarded each year by the Sovereign on the recommendation of the Council of the Society for the most important contributions "to the advancement of Natural Knowledge" in the physical and biological sciences respectively. ARW received the Royal Medal in 1868 "for his labours in practical and theoretical zoology". A third medal has been awarded since 1965 for distinguished contributions in the applied sciences.
23
Wallace, A. R. 1853. A Narrative of Travels on the Amazon and Rio Negro, With an Account of the Native Tribes, and Observations on the Climate, Geology, and Natural History of the Amazon Valley. London: Reeve & Co.
24
Probably a reference to: Wallace, A. R. 1864. The Origin of Human Races and the Antiquity of Man Deduced from the Theory of ʺNatural Selectionʺ. Journal of the Anthropological Society of London. 2: clviii-clxx.
25
Wallace, A. R. 1858. On the Tendency of Varieties to Depart Indefinitely from the Original Type. Journal of Proceedings of the Linnean Society: Zoology. 3: 53-62. This is the famous essay introducing natural selection that ARW sent to Charles Darwin from Ternate in March of 1858. This paper, along with excerpts from two unpublished writings by Darwin, was read before a special meeting of the Linnean Society on 1 July 1858.
26
Either Wallace, A. R. 1860. On the Zoological Geography of the Malay Archipelago. Journal of Proceedings of the Linnean Society: Zoology. 4: 172-184; or Wallace, A. R. 1865. On the Phenomena of Variation and Geographical Distribution as illustrated by the Papilionidae of the Malayan Region. Transactions of the Linnean Society of London. 25: 1-71 (read to the Linnean Society on 17 March 1864 but published after the date of this letter).
27
Some of ARWʹs geographical papers before the time of this letter are: Wallace, A. R. 1857. Notes of a Journey up the Sadong River, in North-West Borneo. Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society. 1: 193-205; Wallace, A. R. 1858. On the Arru Islands. Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society. 2: 163-170; Wallace, A. R. 1862. On the Trade of the Eastern Archipelago with New Guinea and its Islands. Journal of the Royal Geographical Society. 32: 127-137; and Wallace, A. R. 1863. On the Physical Geography of the Malay Archipelago. Journal of the Royal Geographical Society. 33: 217-234.
28
Murray, Andrew Dickson (1812-1878). Scottish lawyer, botanist, zoologist and entomologist. The prospectus is for his 1866 book published two years later in 1866, The Geographical Distribution of Mammals. London: Day and Son, Ltd. Dickson was a prominent opponent of the Darwin-Wallace model of natural selection.
29
Darwin, C. 1868. The Variation of Animals and Plants Under Domestication, 2 vols. London: John Murray.
30
A genus of the orchid family Orchidaceae from Central and South America.
31
A subgenus of the genus Gongora in the family Orchidaceae, containing seven species.
32
A genus of the orchid family Orchidaceae. It consists of 65 species known from Central America, Trinidad and tropical South America, mostly Colombia.
33
For Scott, see endnote 23. He initiated a correspondence with Darwin in 1862 with a letter regarding the fertilisation of the orchid Acropera. Recognising Scott's skills in experimental work, and an interest in dimorphism and heredity, Darwin suggested a number of topics for him to work on and encouraged him to publish his results independently. Aided by Darwin, Scott produced a paper on the Primulaceae that was communicated by Darwin to the Linnean Society in 1864 (see endnote 23).
34
McNab, James (1810-1878). Principal gardener at the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh 1848-1878, where he was John Scott's superior from 1859. He was a prolific writer, contributing to a wide range of horticultural and botanical literature including The Garden and the Transactions of the Botanical Society of Edinburgh. He was one of the original members of the Edinburgh Botanical Society, of which he became president in 1872.
35
Darwin, Charles Robert (1809-1882). British naturalist, geologist and author, notably of On the Origin of Species (1859).
36
Veitch Nurseries, in Chelsea and Exeter, were the largest group of family-run plant nurseries in Europe during the nineteenth century. See Veitch, J. R. 1906. Hortus Veitchii: A History of the Rise and Progress of the Nurseries of Messrs James Veitch and Sons. London: James Veitch & Sons (republished in 2011 by Cambridge University Press).
37
A genus of tropical epiphytes of the orchid family Orchidaceae, commonly known as bucket orchids, native to South and Central America, Mexico and Trinidad. Bucket orchids are an example of coevolution and mutualism, as they have evolved along with orchid bees (the tribe Euglossini of the family Apidae) and both depend on each other for reproduction.
38
A genus of 34 currently accepted species of orchids native to South America, Central America and southern Mexico.

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Status: Edited (but not proofed) transcription [Letter (WCP5317.5861)]

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Revision history

Transcribed by O'Dell, Sandra [2018-08-15] Transcription checked by Barton, Michael [2020-03-08]

Please cite as “WCP5317,” in Beccaloni, G. W. (ed.), Ɛpsilon: The Alfred Russel Wallace Collection accessed on 29 April 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/wallace/letters/WCP5317