WCP5342

[1]¹

Kew

Aug. 7^th / [18]66

Dear old Darwin

You must not let me worry you. I am an obstinate pig — but you must not be miserable at my looking at the same thing in a different light from you — I must get to the bottom of this question — & that is all I can do — some clever fellow one day will knock the bottom out of it, & see his way to explain what to a Botanist ^{without a theory to support} must be very great difficulties — True enough, all may be explained as you reason it will be, I quite [2] grant this: but meanwhile all is not ^so explained, & I cannot accept an explanetus ^{a hypothesis} that leaves so many facts unaccounted for..²

You say temp[erate]. parts of N. Am[erica] nearly 2½ ^times as distant from Azores as Europe is. According to a rough calculation on Col[onel] James’³ chart I make

East. Azores to Portugal 850

West do to N[ew]. F[ound]. Land 1500

but I am writing to a friend at Admiralty to have the distance calculated (which looks like cracking nuts with Nasmyth’s⁴ hammer! —

Are European birds blown to America?

Are the Azorean erratics an established fact? I want [3] them very badly, though they are not of much consequence, as a slight sinking would hide all evidence of that sort.

I do want to sum up impartially, ^{leaving verdict to jury,} I cannot do this without putting all difficulties most clearly — how do you know how you would fare^{with me} if you were a continentalist! — Then too we must recollect that I have to meet a host who are all on the continental side, in fact pretty nearly all the thinkers, Forbes⁵, Hartung⁶, Heer⁷, Unger⁸, Wollaston⁹, Lowe¹⁰, (Wallace I suppose)¹¹ & now Andrew Murray¹². I do not regard all these, & snap my fingers at all but you: in my inmost soul I conscientiously say I incline [4] to your theory — but I cannot accept it as an established truth, or unexceptionable hypothesis.

The “Wire bird” being a grallator is a curious fact favorable to you. Sclater¹³ never heard of it. How I do yearn to go out again to S[ain]^t Helena.

Ever y[ou]rs affec[tionately] | J D Hooker [signature]

Of course I accept the Ornithological evidence as tremendous strong — though why they should get blown Westerly, & not changed specifically as Insects[,] shells & plants have ^have done, is a mystery.